Mangroveforests in many parts of the world are declining at an alarming rate-possibly even more rapidly than inland tropical forests. The rate and causes of such changes are not known. The forests themselves are dynamic in nature and are undergoing constant changes due to both natural and anthropogenic forces. Our research objective was to monitor deforestation and degradation arising from both natural and anthropogenic forces. We analyzed multi-temporal satellite data from 1970s, 1990s, and 2000s using supervised classification approach. Our spatio-temporal??analysis shows that despite having the highest population density in the world in its periphery, areal extent of the mangroveforest of the Sundarbans has not changed significantly (approximately 1.2%) in the last ???25 years. The forest is however constantly changing due to erosion, aggradation, deforestation and mangrove rehabilitation programs. The net forest area increased by 1.4% from the 1970s to 1990 and decreased by 2.5% from 1990 to 2000. The change is insignificant in the context of classification errors and the dynamic nature of mangroveforests. This is an excellent example of the co-existence of humans with terrestrial and aquatic plant and animal life. The strong commitment of governments under various protection measures such as forest reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and international designations, is believed to be responsible for keeping this forest relatively intact (at least in terms of area). While the measured net loss of mangroveforest is not that high, the change matrix shows that turnover due to erosion, aggradation, reforestation and deforestation was much greater than net change. The forest is under threat from natural and anthropogenic forces leading to forest degradation, primarily due to top-dying disease and over-exploitation of forest resources. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mangroveforests in many parts of the world are declining at an alarming rate—possibly even more rapidly than inland tropical forests. The rate and causes of such changes are not known. The forests themselves are dynamic in nature and are undergoing constant changes due to both natural and anthropogenic forces. Our research objective was to monitor deforestation and degradation arising from both natural and anthropogenic forces. We analyzed multi-temporal satellite data from 1970s, 1990s, and 2000s using supervised classification approach. Our spatio-temporal analysis shows that despite having the highest population density in the world in its periphery, areal extent of the mangroveforest of the Sundarbans has not changed significantly (approximately 1.2%) in the last ˜25 years. The forest is however constantly changing due to erosion, aggradation, deforestation and mangrove rehabilitation programs. The net forest area increased by 1.4% from the 1970s to 1990 and decreased by 2.5% from 1990 to 2000. The change is insignificant in the context of classification errors and the dynamic nature of mangroveforests. This is an excellent example of the co-existence of humans with terrestrial and aquatic plant and animal life. The strong commitment of governments under various protection measures such as forest reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and international designations, is believed to be responsible for keeping this forest relatively intact (at least in terms of area). While the measured net loss of mangroveforest is not that high, the change matrix shows that turnover due to erosion, aggradation, reforestation and deforestation was much greater than net change. The forest is under threat from natural and anthropogenic forces leading to forest degradation, primarily due to top-dying disease and over-exploitation of forest resources.

Mangroveforests of Madagascar are declining, albeit at a much slower rate than the global average. The forests are declining due to conversion to other land uses and forest degradation. However, accurate and reliable information on their present distribution and their rates, causes, and consequences of change have not been available. Earlier studies used remotely sensed data to map and, in some cases, to monitormangroveforests at a local scale. Nonetheless, a comprehensive national assessment and synthesis was lacking. We interpreted time-series satellite data of 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005 using a hybrid supervised and unsupervised classification approach. Landsat data were geometrically corrected to an accuracy of ± one-half pixel, an accuracy necessary for change analysis. We used a postclassification change detection approach. Our results showed that Madagascar lost 7% of mangroveforests from 1975 to 2005, to a present extent of ?2,797 km2. Deforestation rates and causes varied both spatially and temporally. The forests increased by 5.6% (212 km2) from 1975 to 1990, decreased by 14.3% (455 km2) from 1990 to 2000, and decreased by 2.6% (73 km2) from 2000 to 2005. Similarly, major changes occurred in Bombekota Bay, Mahajamba Bay, the coast of Ambanja, the Tsiribihina River, and Cap St Vincent. The main factors responsible for mangrove deforestation include conversion to agriculture (35%), logging (16%), conversion to aquaculture (3%), and urban development (1%).

This paper attempts to give information about the structure of mangrove distribution at Tok Bali, Kelantan in order to initiate for management and rehabilitation program. A study was conducted in July to November 2006 to determine the species composition, diversity index and above-ground biomass in 15.8 ha Mixed MangroveForest. A transects forest profile length of 30 meter and 20

Data on stand structure and rates of photosynthesis were used to estimate net canopy carbon fixation and carbon accumulation as living biomass in mangroveforests in Hinchinbrook Channel, Australia. Total annual canopy net carbon fixation was estimated to be about 29?t?C?ha-1?yr-1. This equates to about 204,000?t?C?yr-1 for all mangroveforests in Hinchinbrook Channel. Of this, only about 12% was stored

In South Sulawesi forests contain a large variety of genera and species of plants. These forests are important as sources of timber, fuelwood, food and many other minor products. The major concern over this important coastal resource is its increasing rate of exploitation. Prior to 1965 it was estimated that there were at least 110 000 hectares of mangroveforests

Mangroves ecosystems consist of inter tidal flora and fauna found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Mangrovesforest is a collection of halophytic trees, shrubs, and other plants receiving inputs from regular tidal flushing and from freshwater streams and rivers. A global reduction of 25 % mangroves' area has been observed since 1980 and it is categorized as one of to the most threatened and vulnerable ecosystems of the world. Forest resources in Pakistan are being deteriorating both quantitatively and qualitatively due to anthropogenic activities, climatic v and loose institutional management. According to the FAO (2007), extent of forest cover of Pakistan in 2005 is 1,902,000 ha, which is 2.5% of its total land area. Annual change rate during 2000-2005 was -2.1% which is highest among all the countries in Asia. The Indus delta region contains the world's fifth-largest mangroveforest which provides a range of important ecosystem services, including coastal stabilisation, primary production and provision of nursery habitat for marine fish. Given their ecological importance in coastal settings, mangroves receive special attention in the assessment of conservation efforts and sustainable coastal developments. Coastline of Pakistan is 1050km long shared by the provinces, Sind (350km) and Baluchistan (700 km). The coastline, with typical arid subtropical climate, possesses five significant sites that are blessed with mangroves. In the Sindh province, mangroves are found in the Indus Delta and Sandspit. The Indus Delta is host to the most extensive mangroves areas and extends from Korangi Creek in the West to Sir Creek in the East, whereas Sandspit is a small locality in the West of Karachi city. In the Balochistan province, mangroves are located at three sites, Miani Hor, Kalmat Khor and Jiwani. Contemporary methods of Earth observation sciences are being incorporated as an integral part of environmental assessment related studies in coastal areas. GIS and Remote Sensing based technologies and methods are in use to map forest cover since the last two decades in Pakistan. The national level forest cover studies based upon satellite images include, Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP) and National Forest & Range Resources Assessment Study (NFRRAS). In FSMP, the mangroveforest extent was visually determined from Landsat images of 1988 - 1991, and was estimated to be 155,369 ha; whereas, in NFRRAS, Landsat images of 1997 - 2001 were automated processed and the mangroves areas was estimated to be 158,000 ha. To our knowledge, a comprehensive assessment of current mangroves cover of Pakistan has not been made over the last decade, although the mangroves ecosystems have become the focus of intention in context of recent climate change scenarios. This study was conducted to support the informed decision making for sustainable development in coastal areas of Pakistan by providing up-todate mangrovesforest cover assessment of Pakistan. Various types of Earth Observation satellite images and processing methods have been tested in relation to mangroves mapping. Most of the studies have applied classical pixel - based approached, there are a few studies which used object - based methods of image analysis to map the mangroves ecosystems. Object - based methods have the advantage of incorporating spatial neighbourhood properties and hierarchical structures into the classification process to produce more accurate surface patterns recognition compared with classical pixel - based approaches. In this research, we applied multi-scale hierarchical approach of object-based methods of image analysis to ALOS - AVNIR-2 images of the year 2008-09 to map the land cover in the mangroves ecosystems of Pakistan. Considering the tide height and phonological effects of vegetation, particularly the algal mats, these data sets were meticulously chosen. Incorporation of multi-scale hierarchical structures made it easy to effectively discriminate among the land cover classes, particularly the mudflats from sparse mangroves, at their r

The impact of epibenthos on endobenthos has frequently been investigated for temperate saltmarsh regions by using cage exclusion experiments. Although the insight into the function of the endobenthos of mangroveforests is crucial for their management, very few cage experiments have so far been carried out in such areas. The present paper summaries the results of such experiments in a typical East African mangroveforest at Gazi Bay about 60 km south of Mombasa, Kenya. Epibenthic animals were excluded for one year in two mangrove zones which differed in forest morphology and intertidal position ( Ceriops tagal and Avicennia marina). Environmental factors and meiobenthic and macrobenthic densities were followed in a randomised block design, and procedural and exclusion effects were statistically detected. In confronting the separate responses of all faunal groups in the two mangrove zones, this synthesis gives a better insight into the tropho-dynamical interactions than the earlier separate reports on the same experiment. The ecosystem of the mangrove zones and the competitive interactions within this system provided an ideal opportunity to discover the existence of two food systems. This confirmed a strong involvement of the majority of the endobenthos in an isolated decompositional pathway in the mangrove sediment. It became clear that this exploitative competition was more important than the epibenthic predation in structuring and regulating the global endobenthic community. This synthesis therefore both demonstrates the decisive role of the endobenthos as regenators of mangrove material, and suggests that endobenthos plays a minor role as prey for the demersal or pelagic carnivores.

Current, accurate, and reliable information on the areal extent and spatial distribution of mangroveforests in the Philippines is limited. Previous estimates of mangrove extent do not illustrate the spatial distribution for the entire country. This study, part of a global assessment of mangrove dynamics, mapped the spatial distribution and areal extent of the Philippines' mangroves circa 2000. We used publicly available Landsat data acquired primarily from the Global Land Survey to map the total extent and spatial distribution. ISODATA clustering, an unsupervised classification technique, was applied to 61 Landsat images. Statistical analysis indicates the total area of mangroveforest cover was approximately 256,185 hectares circa 2000 with overall classification accuracy of 96.6% and a kappa coefficient of 0.926. These results differ substantially from most recent estimates of mangrove area in the Philippines. The results of this study may assist the decision making processes for rehabilitation and conservation efforts that are currently needed to protect and restore the Philippines' degraded mangroveforests. ?? 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Given the alarming global rates of mangroveforest loss it is important that resource managers have access to updated information regarding both the extent and condition of their mangroveforests. Mexican mangroves in particular have been identified as experiencing an exceptional high annual rate of loss. However, conflicting studies, using remote sensing techniques, of the current state of many of these forests may be hindering all efforts to conserve and manage what remains. Focusing on one such system, the Teacapán-Agua Brava-Las Haciendas estuarine-mangrove complex of the Mexican Pacific, an attempt was made to develop a rapid method of mapping the current condition of the mangroves based on estimated LAI. Specifically, using an AccuPAR LP-80 Ceptometer, 300 indirect in situ LAI measurements were taken at various sites within the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) dominated forests of the northern section of this system. From this sample, 225 measurements were then used to develop linear regression models based on their relationship with corresponding values derived from QuickBird very high resolution optical satellite data. Specifically, regression analyses of the in situ LAI with both the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the simple ration (SR) vegetation index revealed significant positive relationships [LAI versus NDVI (R (2) = 0.63); LAI versus SR (R (2) = 0.68)]. Moreover, using the remaining sample, further examination of standard errors and of an F test of the residual variances indicated little difference between the two models. Based on the NDVI model, a map of estimated mangrove LAI was then created. Excluding the dead mangrove areas (i.e. LAI = 0), which represented 40% of the total 30.4 km(2) of mangrove area identified in the scene, a mean estimated LAI value of 2.71 was recorded. By grouping the healthy fringe mangrove with the healthy riverine mangrove and by grouping the dwarf mangrove together with the poor condition mangrove, mean estimated LAI values of 4.66 and 2.39 were calculated, respectively. Given that the former healthy group only represents 8% of the total mangrove area examined, it is concluded that this mangrove system, considered one of the most important of the Pacific coast of the Americas, is currently experiencing a considerable state of degradation. Furthermore, based on the results of this investigation it is suggested that this approach could provide resource managers and scientists alike with a very rapid and effective method for monitoring the state of remaining mangroveforests of the Mexican Pacific and, possibly, other areas of the tropics. PMID:19023672

Mangroves can capture and store organic carbon and their protection and therefore their restoration is a component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangroveforests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g cm?3 (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g cm?3 (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks. PMID:24883249

Mangroves can capture and store organic carbon and their protection and therefore their restoration is a component of climate change mitigation. However, there are few empirical measurements of long-term carbon storage in mangroves or of how storage varies across environmental gradients. The context dependency of this process combined with geographically limited field sampling has made it difficult to generalize regional and global rates of mangrove carbon sequestration. This has in turn hampered the inclusion of sequestration by mangroves in carbon cycle models and in carbon offset markets. The purpose of this study was to estimate the relative carbon capture and storage potential in natural and restored mangroveforests. We measured depth profiles of soil organic carbon content in 72 cores collected from six sites (three natural, two restored, and one afforested) surrounding Muisne, Ecuador. Samples up to 1 m deep were analyzed for organic matter content using loss-on-ignition and values were converted to organic carbon content using an accepted ratio of 1.72 (g/g). Results suggest that average soil carbon storage is 0.055 ± 0.002 g cm(-3) (11.3 ± 0.8% carbon content by dry mass, mean ± 1 SE) up to 1 m deep in natural sites, and 0.058 ± 0.002 g cm(-3) (8.0 ± 0.3%) in restored sites. These estimates are concordant with published global averages. Evidence of equivalent carbon stocks in restored and afforested mangrove patches emphasizes the carbon sink potential for reestablished mangrove systems. We found no relationship between sediment carbon storage and aboveground biomass, forest structure, or within-patch location. Our results demonstrate the long-term carbon storage potential of natural mangroves, high effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, a lack of predictability in carbon storage strictly based on aboveground parameters, and the need to establish standardized protocol for quantifying mangrove sediment carbon stocks. PMID:24883249

Mangroveforests provide a range of ecological and socio-economic benefits in coastal zones throughout the world's tropical regions. Yet the conversion of mangroveforest, due in particular to aquaculture development, is occurring at a dramatic rate. Drawing on insights and concepts offered by political ecology and complex systems, processes of mangroveforest conversion and aquaculture development in the coastal zone

The feeding behaviour of leaf eating crustaceans feeding on leaves shed by Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora stylosa in the mangroveforest at Myora Springs, Queensland, Australia was studied between 1980 and 1984. Individual Sesarma erythrodactyla (carapace >9 mm long), one of the most abundant species of crabs in the forest, processed approximately half a leaf from any of

Mangrove protects shorelines from damaging storm and hurricane winds, waves, and floods. Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems. They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land. However, mangrove has been reported to be threatened by land conversion for other activities. In this study, land use and land cover changes in Matang MangroveForest during the past 18 years (1993 to 2011) were determined using multi-temporal satellite imageries by Landsat TM and RapidEye. In this study, classification of land use and land cover approach was performed using the maximum likelihood classifier (MCL) method along with vegetation index differencing (NDVI) technique. Data obtained was evaluated through Kappa coefficient calculation for accuracy and results revealed that the classification accuracy was 81.25% with Kappa Statistics of 0.78. The results indicated changes in mangroveforest area to water body with 2,490.6 ha, aquaculture with 890.7 ha, horticulture with 1,646.1 ha, palm oil areas with 1,959.2 ha, dry land forest with 2,906.7 ha and urban settlement area with 224.1 ha. Combinations of these approaches were useful for change detection and for indication of the nature of these changes.

Mangroveforests are rapidly expanding their distribution in New Zealand, which is at the southern limit of their range. We\\u000a investigated how these expanding mangroveforests develop through time. We assessed patterns in forest structure and function\\u000a at the Firth of Thames, which is a rapidly accreting mangrove site in New Zealand where 1 km of mangrove of Avicennia marina has

Mangrove vegetations are normally present in river estuaries and along the coast where the land meets the sea. Remote sensing can be used to obtain mangrove distribution information. The objective of this study was to study the current condition of mangroveforest using remote sensing over Penang Island, Malaysia. An attempt has been made based on supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC), various land use and land cover classes have been mapped and classified. A red-green-blue (RGB) colour was used to display and quantify mangroveforest distribution using Thailand Earth Observation System (THEOS) satellite imagery. Reference data was based on ground truth. High accuracy of 91.7% was obtained in mapping of mangrove cover.

Accurately quantifying forest biomass is of crucial importance for climate change studies. By quantifying the amount of above and below ground biomass and consequently carbon stored in forest ecosystems, we are able to derive estimates of carbon sequestration, emission and storage and help close the carbon budget. Mangroveforests, in addition to providing habitat and nursery grounds for over 1300 animal species, are also an important sink of biomass. Although they only constitute about 3% of the total forested area globally, their carbon storage capacity -- in forested biomass and soil carbon -- is greater than that of tropical forests (Lucas et al, 2007). In addition, the amount of mangrove carbon -- in the form of litter and leaves exported into offshore areas is immense, resulting in over 10% of the ocean's dissolved organic carbon originating from mangroves (Dittmar et al, 2006) The measurement of forest above ground biomass is carried out on two major scales: on the plot scale, biomass can be measured using field measurements through allometric equation derivation and measurements of forest plots. On the larger scale, the field data are used to calibrate remotely sensed data to obtain stand-wide or even regional estimates of biomass. Currently, biomass can be calculated using average stand biomass values and optical data, such as aerial photography or satellite images (Landsat, Modis, Ikonos, SPOT, etc.). More recent studies have concentrated on deriving forest biomass values using radar (JERS, SIR-C, SRTM, Airsar) and/or lidar (ICEsat/GLAS, LVIS) active remote sensing to retrieve more accurate and detailed measurements of forest biomass. The implementation of a generation of new active sensors (UAVSar, DesdynI, Alos/Palsar, TerraX) has prompted the development of new tecm'liques of biomass estimation that use the combination of multiple sensors and datasets, to quantify past, current and future biomass stocks. Focusing on mangroveforest biomass estimation, this book chapter has 3 main objectives: a) To describe in detail the field methodologies used to derive accurate estimates of biomass in mangroveforests b) To explain how mangroveforest biomass can be measured using several remote sensing techniques and datasets c) To give a detailed explanation of the measurement challenges and errors that arise in each estimate of forest biomass

Globally, coastal ecosystems are critical to maintaining human livelihood and biodiversity. These ecosystems including mangroves, salt marshes, and sea grasses provide essential ecosystem services, such as supporting fisheries by providing important spawning grounds, filtering pollutants and contaminants from coastal waters, and protecting coastal development and communities against storms, floods and erosion. Additionally, recent research indicates that these vegetated coastal ecosystems are highly efficient carbon sinks (i.e. 'Blue Carbon') and can potentially play a significant role in ameliorating the effect of increasing global climate change by capturing significant amounts of carbon into sediments and plant biomass. The term blue carbon indicates the carbon stored in coastal vegetated wetlands (i.e., mangroves, intertidal marshes, and seagrass meadows). As a result of rapid global changes in coastal regions, it is crucial that we improve our understanding of the current and future state of the remaining coastal ecosystems and associated ecosystem services and their vulnerability to global climate change. In this study, we present a continental scale study of mangrove distribution and assess patterns of forest structural development associated to latitude and geomorphological setting. We produced a baseline map of mangrove canopy height and biomass for all mangroveforests of the Americas using data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and publicly available land cover maps (Figure 1). The resulting canopy height map was calibrated using ICEsat/Geoscience Laser Altimeter system (GLAS). Biomass was derived from field data and allometry. The maps were validated with field data and results in accuracies that vary spatially around 2 to 3m in height and 20% in biomass. Figure 1: Global distribution of mangroveforests (green) and SRTM elevation data. These data were used to produce large scale maps of mangrove canopy height and biomass.

In April, July and August 1989 and February 1990, the delta region of the Fly River was surveyed to establish the aerial extent of mangroveforests, their species composition, tree densities and basal areas, and potential net primary production. Mangroveforests cover 87 400 ha, mainly on islands within the delta. Twentynine mangrove plant species were recorded, but there were

This review assesses the degree of resilience of mangroveforests to large, infrequent disturbance (tsunamis) and their role in coastal protection, and to chronic disturbance events (climate change) and the future of mangroves in the face of global change. From a geological perspective, mangroves come and go at considerable speed with the current distribution of forests a legacy of the

The mangroveforests of Australasia have many endemic bird species but their evolution and radiation in those habitats has been little studied. One genus with several mangrove specialist species is Gerygone (Passeriformes: Acanthizidae...

Mangroveforests provide important ecosystem services, and play important roles in terrestrial and oceanic carbon (C) cycling. Although the C stocks or storage in terrestrial ecosystems in China have been frequently assessed, the C stocks in mangroveforests have often been overlooked. In this study, we estimated the C stocks and the potential C stocks in China's mangroveforests by combining our own field data with data from the National Mangrove Resource Inventory Report and from other published literature. The results indicate that mangroveforests in China store about 6.91 ± 0.57 Tg C, of which 81.74% is in the top 1 m soil, 18.12% in the biomass of mangrove trees, and 0.08% in the ground layer (i.e. mangrove litter and seedlings). The potential C stocks are as high as 28.81 ± 4.16 Tg C. On average, mangroveforests in China contain 355.25 ± 82.19 Mg C ha(-1), which is consistent with the global average of mangrove C density at similar latitudes, but higher than the average C density in terrestrial forests in China. Our results suggest that C storage in mangroves can be increased by selecting high C-density species for afforestation and stand improvement, and even more by increasing the mangrove area. The information gained in this study will facilitate policy decisions concerning the restoration of mangroveforests in China. PMID:24374165

Two species of mangrove trees of Indo-Pacific origin have naturalized in tropical Atlantic mangroveforests in South Florida\\u000a after they were planted and nurtured in botanic gardens. Two Bruguiera gymnorrhiza trees that were planted in the intertidal zone in 1940 have given rise to a population of at least 86 trees growing interspersed\\u000a with native mangrove species Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia

To evaluate how mangrove invasion and removal can modify benthic carbon cycling processes and ecosystem functioning, we used stable-isotopically labelled algae as a deliberate tracer to quantify benthic respiration and C-flow through macrofauna and bacteria in sediments collected from (1) an invasive mangroveforest, (2) deforested mangrove sites 2 and 6 years after removal of above-sediment mangrove biomass, and (3) two mangrove-free, control sites in the Hawaiian coastal zone. Sediment oxygen consumption (SOC) rates were significantly greater in the mangrove and mangrove removal site experiments than in controls and were significantly correlated with total benthic (macrofauna and bacteria) biomass and sedimentary mangrove biomass (SMB). Bacteria dominated short-term C-processing of added microalgal-C and benthic biomass in sediments from the invasive mangroveforest habitat. In contrast, macrofauna were the most important agents in the short-term processing of microalgal-C in sediments from the mangrove removal and control sites. Mean faunal abundance and short term C-uptake rates in sediments from both removal sites were significantly higher than in control cores, which collectively suggest that community structure and short-term C-cycling dynamics in habitats where mangroves have been cleared can remain fundamentally different from un-invaded mudflat sediments for at least 6-yrs following above-sediment mangrove removal. In summary, invasion by mangroves can lead to large shifts in benthic ecosystem function, with sediment metabolism, benthic community structure and short-term C-remineralization dynamics being affected for years following invader removal. ?? 2010 Author(s).

Tsunamis and storm surges have killed more than one million people and some three billion people currently live with a high risk of these disasters, which are becoming more frequent and devastating worldwide. Effective mitigation of such disasters is possible via healthy coastal forests, which can reduce the energy of tsunamis. In recent years, these natural barriers have declined due to adverse human and natural activities. In the past 20 years, the world has lost almost 50 per cent of its mangroveforests, making them one of the most endangered landscapes. It is essential to recover them and to use them as a shield against a tsunami and as a resource to secure optimal socio-economic, ecological and environmental benefits. This paper examines the emerging scenario facing mangroveforests, discusses protection from tsunamis, and proposes a way to improve the current situation. We hope that practical tips will help communities and agencies to work collectively to achieve a common goal. PMID:18699857

Mangrove ecosystems play important roles in conservation of seashore lines and spawning and nursery of aquatic creatures. It is important to understand nutrient budgets and links between human activities and their effects on mangrove ecosystems. However, we have less knowledge about mangrove ecosystems than that about many other ecosystems. To quantify total material balances in the estuary centered in mangroveforest, we have measured nutrient cycling and CH4 and CO2 gas fluxes in Fukido mangrove creek, Ishigaki island, Okinawa, Japan. It was conducted over tidal cycles from 2006 to 2008. To understand the difference between weather conditions, we investigated on both of rainy day and fine day. Water budget in the river was controlled by tidal exchange at estuary and the input budget from upriver was not dominant for the total budget even if it"fs rain"DFrom estimation of suspended solids (SS) budgets, SS was flowed in the river from upriver significantly on rainy day (more than 5 times inflow of fine day). The amount of SS accumulation in mangroveforest on rainy day (316 kg/day) was about 10 times amount of fine day. Total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) budgets also showed accumulation in mangrove. The outflow of T-P to coastal area on rainy day was 0.046 kgPO4/day and nearly equal to fine day. In contrast, T-N outflow to coastal on rainy day (0.58 kgN/day) was about 100 times of fine day. T-N budget showed different behavior from T-P. Ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) was dissolved from mangroveforest (~3.83 kgN/day by the nutrient dissolution experiments) and flowed out to estuary under certain conditions. In addition"Cconcentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) in mangrove creeks increased on fine days (11.2~15.5 mgC/L) and decreased on rainy days(1.8~4.9 mgC/L). It suggested the TOC dissolution to creek water from mangrove carbon-rich sediments and dilution effects by rain. Continuous measurements of gas fluxes showed that the CH4 and CO2 emissions from the water were accelerated due to the drop in hydrostatic pressure during the falling tide. The magnitude of total carbon gas fluxes (~116kgC/day) was about ~50 percent of the carbon accumulation in the creek. Estimation of net carbon cycling in Fukido mangrove estuary including carbon gas emission indicated that the estuary functioned as sinks for carbon. We conclude that a mangrove ecosystem had unique functions different from common urban rivers, preventing excess sediment outflow on rainy day and supplying nutrients to coastal area on fine day. It would affect the coastal ecosystems and offer habitats to marine life including fish and coral.

Monitoring Environmental Impacts on Mangrove Ecosystem in the Indus Delta of Pakistan The mangroveforests growing in intertidal region along the tropical coastlines form a unique ecosystem with rich floral species and marine resources. In Pakistan, large mangroveforests are found all along the muddy coast of Sindh province at Indus Deltaic region. These mangroves are threatened by a variety of environmental pollution, like: dumping of untreated industrial and urban waste, sewage water; hazardous chemical released during ship breaking, oil spills, mangroves cutting, over fishing, scarcity of fresh water, seawater intrusion and unplanned urban development, etc. Dams and barrages, constructed on the mighty Indus River have reduced the supply of freshwater into the delta and consequently, seawater intruding into the riverine tract. The Tidal Link, constructed in 1995 to drain the agriculture effluents of cultivated areas of Sindh to sea, has also greatly damaged the ecology of the area. This study is based on integrated use of RS & GIS techniques for monitoring environmental impacts on the mangroves ecosystem of Indus Delta, for management and planning of this coastal ecosystem. Temporal satellite remote sensing (SRS) data acquired between 1976 to 2005 have been analysed using image processing and GIS techniques and coastal landuse maps representing coverage of the deltaic region have been prepared, which enabled to monitor dynamic and geomorphological changes occurred in the area. The tidal boundaries derived from temporal SRS data have been integrated to understand the coastal processes and their impact on mangroves ecosystem, and on tidal / intertidal zones. From the analysis, it was observed that the surface salt accumulation and dryness in the deltaic region and waterlogging & salinity in inland areas have been increased over the last 30 years, indicate the intrusion of seawater in groundwater aquifers and reduction in over all biomass in the area. This study demonstrated that the temporal SRS data used in this study are found suitable for monitoring environmental impacts on mangrove ecosystem and in identification of dynamic changes taking place in the Indus Delta of Pakistan. Key Words: Indus Delta, mangroves, ecosystem, temporal SRS data, environmental pollution, environmental impacts, seawater intrusion, coastal process, waterlogging & salinity

An experiment observed the behavior of selected tagged plastic items deliberately released in different habitats of a tropical mangroveforest in NE Brazil in late rainy (September) and late dry (March) seasons. Significant differences were not reported among seasons. However, marine debris retention varied among habitats, according to characteristics such as hydrodynamic (i.e., flow rates and volume transported) and relative vegetation (Rhizophora mangle) height and density. The highest grounds retained significantly more items when compared to the borders of the river and the tidal creek. Among the used tagged items, PET bottles were more observed and margarine tubs were less observed, being easily transported to adjacent habitats. Plastic bags were the items most retained near the releasing site. The balance between items retained and items lost was positive, demonstrating that mangroveforests tend to retain plastic marine debris for long periods (months-years). PMID:24321881

Information regarding the present condition, historical status, and dynamics of mangroveforests is needed to study the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and other stressors affecting mangrove ecosystems. Such information is unavailable for Louisiana at sufficient spatial and thematic detail. We prepared mangroveforest distribution maps of Louisiana (prior to the oil spill) at 1 m and 30 m spatial resolution using aerial photographs and Landsat satellite data, respectively. Image classification was performed using a decision-tree classification approach. We also prepared land-cover change pairs for 1983, 1984, and every 2 y from 1984 to 2010 depicting ecosystem shifts (e.g., expansion, retraction, and disappearance). This new spatiotemporal information could be used to assess short-term and long-term impacts of the oil spill on mangroves. Finally, we propose an operational methodology based on remote sensing (Landsat, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer [ASTER], hyperspectral, light detection and ranging [LIDAR], aerial photographs, and field inventory data) to monitor the existing and emerging mangrove areas and their disturbance and regrowth patterns. Several parameters such as spatial distribution, ecosystem shifts, species composition, and tree height/biomass could be measured to assess the impact of the oil spill and mangrove recovery and restoration. Future research priorities will be to quantify the impacts and recovery of mangroves considering multiple stressors and perturbations, including oil spill, winter freeze, sea-level rise, land subsidence, and land-use/land-cover change for the entire Gulf Coast. ?? 2011 Coastal Education & Research Foundation.

Two species of mangrove trees of Indo-Pacific origin have naturalized in tropical Atlantic mangroveforests in South Florida after they were planted and nurtured in botanic gardens. Two Bruguiera gymnorrhiza trees that were planted in the intertidal zone in 1940 have given rise to a population of at least 86 trees growing interspersed with native mangrove species Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa along 100 m of shoreline; the population is expanding at a rate of 5.6% year-1. Molecular genetic analyses confirm very low genetic diversity, as expected from a population founded by two individuals. The maximumnumber of alleles at any locus was three, and we measured reduced heterozygosity compared to native-range populations. Lumnitzera racemosa was introduced multiple times during the 1960s and 1970s, it has spread rapidly into a forest composed of native R. mangle, A. germinans, Laguncularia racemosa and Conocarpus erectus and now occupies 60,500 m2 of mangroveforest with stem densities of 24,735 ha-1. We estimate the population growth rate of Lumnitzera racemosa to be between 17 and 23% year-1. Populations of both species of naturalized mangroves are dominated by young individuals. Given the long life and water-dispersed nature of propagules of the two exotic species, it is likely that they have spread beyond our survey area. We argue that the species-depauperate nature of tropical Atlantic mangroveforests and close taxonomic relatives in the more species-rich Indo-Pacific region result in the susceptibility of tropical Atlantic mangroveforests to invasion by Indo-Pacific mangrove species.

Because shrimp culture in the Mekong Delta develops rapidly, it has negatively impacted the environment, socio-economics and natural resources. In particular, mangroveforests have been altered by the shrimp culture. The area of mangroveforests in the region has been reduced and this is seen especially in Tra Vinh province. The results obtained from GIS (Geography Information System) and RS

Mangroveforests are highly dynamic ecosystems and change frequently due to tropical storms, frost, and lightning. These factors can cause gaps in mangroveforests by damaging trees. Compared to gaps generated by storms and frost, gaps caused by lightning strikes are small, ranging from 50 to 300 m2. However, these small gaps may play a critical role in mangroveforest dynamics because of the frequent occurrence of lightning in tropical areas. It has been hypothesized that the turnover of mangroveforests is mainly due to the death and regeneration of trees in lightning gaps. However, there is a lack of data for gap occurrence in mangroveforests to verify this hypothesis. It is impractical to measure gaps through a field survey on a large scale because of the logistic difficulties of muddy mangroveforests. Airborne light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology is an effective alternative because it provides direct measurements of ground and canopy elevations remotely. This study developed a method to identify lightning gaps in mangroveforests in terms of LIDAR measurements. First, LIDAR points are classified into vegetation and ground measurements using the progressive morphological filter. Second, a digital canopy model (DCM) is generated by subtracting a digital terrain model (DTM) from a digital surface model (DSM). The DSM is generated by interpolating raw LIDAR measurements, and DTM is produced by interpolating ground measurements. Third, a black top-hat mathematical morphological transformation is used to identify canopy gaps. Comparison of identified gap polygons with raw LIDAR measurements and field surveys shows that the proposed method identifies lightning gaps in mangroveforests successfully. The area of lightning gaps in mangroveforests in Everglades National Park is about 3% of total forest area, which verifies that lightning gaps play a critical role in mangroveforest turnover.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangroveforests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangroveforests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the

Since the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the role of mangroveforests as natural defenses protecting coastal communities from tsunami disaster has been highlighted. However, some mangroveforests were destroyed by that tsunami. They are expected to have lost their protective functions. In this study, we develop a fragility function to assess the mangrove trees' vulnerability, expressed as the

Plant communities along tropical coastlines are often affected by natural and human disturbances, but little is known about factors influencing recovery. We focused on mangroveforests, which are among the most threatened ecosystems globally, to examine how facilitation by herbaceous vegetation might improve forest restoration after disturbance. We specifically investigated whether recovery of mangroveforests in harsh environments is accelerated by nurse plants and whether the beneficial effects are species-specific. Quantification of standardized effects allowed comparisons across performance parameters and over time for: (1) net effect of each herbaceous species on mangrove survival and growth, (2) effects of pre- and post-establishment factors associated with each herbaceous species, and (3) need for artificial planting to enhance growth or survival of mangrove seedlings. Mangrove recruitment in a clear-cut forest in Belize was accelerated by the presence of Sesuvium portulacastrum (succulent forb) and Distichlis spicata (grass), two coastal species common throughout the Caribbean region. The net effect of herbaceous vegetation was positive, but the magnitude of effects on mangrove survival and growth differed by species. Because of differences in their vegetative structure and other features, species effects on mangroves also varied by mechanism: (1) trapping of dispersing propagules (both species), (2) structural support of the seedling (Distichlis), and/or (3) promotion of survival (Sesuviumn) or growth (Distichlis) through amelioration of soil conditions (temperature, aeration). Artificial planting had a stronger positive effect on mangrove survival than did edaphic conditions, but planting enhanced mangrove growth more in Sesuvium than in Distichlis patches. Our study indicates that beneficial species might be selected based on features that provide multiple positive effects and that species comparisons may be improved using standardized effects. Our findings are not only relevant to the coastal environments found in the Caribbean region, but our assessment methods may be useful for developing site-specific information to restore disturbed mangroveforests worldwide, especially given the large pool of mangrove associates (>45 genera) available for screening. PMID:17913132

Gap succession is a significant determinant of structure and development in most forest communities. Lightning strikes are an important source of canopy gaps in the mangroveforest of Everglades National Park. I investigated the successional dynamics of lightning-initiated canopy gaps to determine their influence on forest stand structure of the mixed mangroveforests ( Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa, and Avicennia

Mangroveforests occur along ocean coastlines throughout the tropics, and support numerous ecosystem services, including fisheries production and nutrient cycling. However, the areal extent of mangroveforests has declined by 30-50% over the past half century as a result of coastal development, aquaculture expansion and over-harvesting. Carbon emissions resulting from mangrove loss are uncertain, owing in part to a lack of broad-scale data on the amount of carbon stored in these ecosystems, particularly below ground. Here, we quantified whole-ecosystem carbon storage by measuring tree and dead wood biomass, soil carbon content, and soil depth in 25 mangroveforests across a broad area of the Indo-Pacific region--spanning 30° of latitude and 73° of longitude--where mangrove area and diversity are greatest. These data indicate that mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, containing on average 1,023Mg carbon per hectare. Organic-rich soils ranged from 0.5m to more than 3m in depth and accounted for 49-98% of carbon storage in these systems. Combining our data with other published information, we estimate that mangrove deforestation generates emissions of 0.02-0.12Pg carbon per year--as much as around 10% of emissions from deforestation globally, despite accounting for just 0.7% of tropical forest area.

The mangroveforest fish Rivulus marmoratus (Cyprinodontidae) has frequently been observed out of water, a phenomenon generally attributed to habitat drying. The authors tested the hypothesis that hydrogen sulfide, a substance characteristically found in their environment, can se...

The cyanobacterial community colonizing phyllosphere in a well-preserved Brazilian mangrove ecosystem was assessed using cultivation-independent molecular approaches. Leaves of trees that occupy this environment (Rhizophora mangle,Avicennia schaueriana and Laguncularia racemosa) were collected along a transect beginning at the margin of the bay and extending upland. The results demonstrated that the phyllosphere of R. mangle and L. racemosa harbor similar assemblages of cyanobacteria at each point along the transect. A. schaueriana, found only in the coastal portions of the transect, was colonized by assemblages with lower richness than the other trees. However, the results indicated that spatial location was a stronger driver of cyanobacterial community composition than plant species. Distinct cyanobacterial communities were observed at each location along the coast-to-upland transect. Clone library analysis allowed identification of 19 genera of cyanobacteria and demonstrated the presence of several uncultivated taxa. A predominance of sequences affiliated with the orders Nostocales and Oscillatoriales was observed, with a remarkable number of sequences similar to genera Symphyonemopsis/Brasilonema (order Nostocales). The results demonstrated that phyllosphere cyanobacteria in this mangroveforest ecosystem are influenced by environmental conditions as the primary driver at the ecosystem scale, with tree species exerting some effect on community structure at the local scale. PMID:22611551

We live in an era of unprecedented ecological change in which ecologists and natural resource managers are increasingly challenged to anticipate and prepare for the ecological effects of future global change. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of winter climate change upon salt marsh and mangroveforest foundation species in the southeastern United States. Our research addresses the following three questions: (1) What is the relationship between winter climate and the presence and abundance of mangroveforests relative to salt marshes; (2) How vulnerable are salt marshes to winter climate change-induced mangroveforest range expansion; and (3) What is the potential future distribution and relative abundance of mangroveforests under alternative winter climate change scenarios? We developed simple winter climate-based models to predict mangroveforest distribution and relative abundance using observed winter temperature data (1970–2000) and mangroveforest and salt marsh habitat data. Our results identify winter climate thresholds for salt marsh–mangroveforest interactions and highlight coastal areas in the southeastern United States (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Florida) where relatively small changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme winter events could cause relatively dramatic landscape-scale ecosystem structural and functional change in the form of poleward mangroveforest migration and salt marsh displacement. The ecological implications of these marsh-to-mangroveforest conversions are poorly understood, but would likely include changes for associated fish and wildlife populations and for the supply of some ecosystem goods and services.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) provided technical support to the Resource Information Management System (RIMS) unit of the Forest Department (FD) of Bangladesh in developing a method to monitor changes within the Sundarbans Reserve Forest using remote sensing and GIS technology to meet the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) initiatives within Bangladesh. It included comparing the simple image differencing method with the Z-score outlier change detection method to examine changes within the mangroves of Bangladesh. Landsat data from three time periods (1989, 1999, 2009) were used to quantify change within four canopy cover classes (High, Medium, Low, and Very Low) within Sundarbans. The Z-score change analysis and image differencing was done for all the 6 reflective bands obtained from Landsat and two spectral indices NDVI and NDMI, derived from these bands for each year. Our results indicated very subtle changes in the mangroveforest within the past twenty years and the Z-score analysis was found to be more useful in capturing these subtle changes than the simple image difference method. Percent change in Z-score of NDVI provided the most meaningful index of vegetation change. It was used to summarize change for the entire study area by pixel, by canopy cover classes and the management compartment during this analysis. Our analysis showed less than 5% overall change in area within the mangroves for the entire study period. Percent change in forest canopy cover reduced from 4% in 1989-99 to 2% by 1999-2009 indicating an increase in forest canopy cover. Percent change in NDVI Z-score of each pixel was used to compute the overall percent change in z-score within the entire study area, mean percent change within each canopy cover class and management compartments from 1989 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2009. The above analysis provided insight to the spatial distribution of percent change in NDVI between the study periods and helped in identifying potential area for management intervention. The mean distribution of change from both study periods was observed within ± 20% SD.Our results were in agreement with the independent field study conducted by the US Forest Service earlier the same year for biomass and carbon stock estimation. The 10m field plots that showed a decline in carbon stock between 1995 and 2010 overall coincided with the compartments or region that showed a decline in forest canopy cover between 1999 and 2009 from the present analysis. These results led us to believe that the Z-score analysis can be a potential quantitatively rigorous tool to quantify change in ecosystems that are mostly stable and do not undergo drastic land use or land cover change. The field and remote sensing study together provided important scientific information and direction for future management of the forest resources, baseline information for long term monitoring of the forest, and identifying potential REDD+ Carbon financing projects in Sundarbans, as well as other potential REDD+ sites within forested area of Bangladesh. Given the rising concern and interest in REDD+ initiative we consider the Z-score analysis to be a potential tool in monitoring and providing a quick spatial assessment of change using remote sensing technology.

Mangroveforest structure and sediment characteristics were examined in the extensive mangroves of Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama. Forest structure was characterized to determine if spatial vegetation patterns were repeated over the Bocas del Toro landscape. Using a series of permanent plots and transects we found that the forests of Bocas del Toro were dominated by Rhizophora mangle with very few individuals of Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa. Despite this low species diversity, there was large variation in forest structure and in edaphic conditions (salinity, concentration of available phosphorus, Eh and sulphide concentration). Aboveground biomass varied 20-fold, from 6.8 Mg ha-1 in dwarf forests to 194.3 Mg ha-1 in the forests fringing the land. But variation in forest structure was predictable across the intertidal zone. There was a strong tree height gradient from seaward fringe (mean tree height 3.9 m), decreasing in stature in the interior dwarf forests (mean tree height 0.7 m), and increasing in stature in forests adjacent to the terrestrial forest (mean tree height 4.1 m). The predictable variation in forest structure emerges due to the complex interactions among edaphic and plant factors. Identifying predictable patterns in forest structure will aid in scaling up the ecosystem services provided by mangroveforests in coastal landscapes. Copyright 2005 College of Arts and Sciences.

The stability of a mangrove ecosystem in Cananeia, Brazil, is assessed based on investigations of the site-specific temporal\\u000a rise in relative sea level during the past 50 years, 100-year sediment accumulation rates (SAR) and sources of organic matter\\u000a (OM). Addressing this, three sediment cores were collected in a transect, intertidal mud flat, mangrove margin and well into\\u000a the forest. The net

The structure and regeneration patterns of the peri-urban mangrove vegetation of Mombasa at Tudor creek were studied along\\u000a belt transects at two forest sites of Kombeni and Tsalu. Based on the species importance values, the dominant mangrove species\\u000a were Rhizophora mucronata Lam. (Rhizophoraceae) and Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. (Avicenniaceae). Lumnitzera racemosa Willd., reported in an earlier floristic survey, was not

Despite the importance of mangrove ecosystems in the global carbon budget, the relationships between environmental drivers and carbon dynamics in these forests remain poorly understood. This limited understanding is partly a result of the challenges associated with in situ flux studies. Tower-based CO2 eddy covariance (EC) systems are installed in only a few mangroveforests worldwide, and the longest EC record from the Florida Everglades contains less than 9 years of observations. A primary goal of the present study was to develop a methodology to estimate canopy-scale photosynthetic light use efficiency in this forest. These tower-based observations represent a basis for associating CO2 fluxes with canopy light use properties, and thus provide the means for utilizing satellite-based reflectance data for larger scale investigations. We present a model for mangrove canopy light use efficiency utilizing the enhanced green vegetation index (EVI) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) that is capable of predicting changes in mangroveforest CO2 fluxes caused by a hurricane disturbance and changes in regional environmental conditions, including temperature and salinity. Model parameters are solved for in a Bayesian framework. The model structure requires estimates of ecosystem respiration (RE), and we present the first ever tower-based estimates of mangroveforest RE derived from nighttime CO2 fluxes. Our investigation is also the first to show the effects of salinity on mangroveforest CO2 uptake, which declines 5% per each 10 parts per thousand (ppt) increase in salinity. Light use efficiency in this forest declines with increasing daily photosynthetic active radiation, which is an important departure from the assumption of constant light use efficiency typically applied in satellite-driven models. The model developed here provides a framework for estimating CO2 uptake by these forests from reflectance data and information about environmental conditions.

The typically anaerobic nature of mangrove sediments provides significant challenges to the mangrove trees and biota inhabiting them. The burrowing activities and flow of water through the numerous and complex animal burrows perforating the sediments of mangroves have a major influence on the biogeochemistry of the sediments and are important to the enhancement of nutrient and oxygen exchange. Two new methods are presented for monitoring the tidal flushing of Sesarma messa and Alpheus cf macklay burrows in a Rhizophora stylosa mangroveforest - by measuring oxygen content of burrow water and by determining the change in fluorescence of a dye tracer through tidal inundation. A case study using the first of these showed oxygen consumption rates at the burrow wall deep within the burrow were found to be between 210 and 460 ?mol O 2 m -2 h -1. The influx of oxygen during a flood tide was found to be significant and indicated that approximately 40% of the burrow water is flushed during a single tidal event. However, the high consumption rate of oxygen within the burrow resulted in the oxygen concentration remaining at or below one-third of the oxygen content of the flooding tidal water. A test application of the second method, using rhodamine dye as a tracer, indicated that the exchange of water between the burrow and the flooding tide was found to be in the order of 30% of the burrow volume. These new techniques provide a means to further study the nutrient exchange within these burrow systems and verify the initial findings that several tidal inundations are necessary to completely flush the burrows.

Mangroveforests are ecosystems susceptible to changing water levels and temperatures due to climate change as well as perturbations resulting from tropical storms. Numerical models can be used to project mangroveforest responses to regional and global environmental changes, and the reliability of these models depends on surface energy balance closure. However, for tidal ecosystems, the surface energy balance is complex because the energy transport associated with tidal activity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to quantify impacts of tidal flows on energy dynamics within a mangrove ecosystem. To address the research objective, an intensive study was conducted in a mangroveforest located along the Shark River in the Everglades National Park, FL. Forest-atmosphere energy exchanges were quantified with an eddy covariance system deployed on a flux tower. The lateral energy transport associated with tidal activity was calculated based on a coupled mass and energy balance approach. The mass balance included tidal flows and accumulation of water on the forest floor. The energy balance included temporal changes in enthalpy, resulting from tidal flows and temperature changes in the water column. By serving as a net sink or a source of available energy, tidal flows reduced the impact of high radiational loads on the mangroveforest. Including tidal energy advection in the surface energy balance improved the 30-min daytime energy closure from 73% to 82% over the study period. Also, the cumulative sum of energy output improved from 79% to 91% of energy input during the study period. Results indicated that tidal inundation provides an important mechanism for heat removal and that tidal exchange should be considered in surface energy budgets of coastal ecosystems. Results also demonstrated the importance of including tidal energy advection in mangrove biophysical models that are used for predicting ecosystem response to changing climate and regional freshwater management practices.

Mangroveforests are ecosystems susceptible to changing water levels and temperatures due to climate change as well as perturbations resulting from tropical storms. Numerical models can be used to project mangroveforest responses to regional and global environmental changes, and the reliability of these models depends on surface energy balance closure. However, for tidal ecosystems, the surface energy balance is complex because the energy transport associated with tidal activity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to quantify impacts of tidal flows on energy dynamics within a mangrove ecosystem. To address the research objective, an intensive 10-day study was conducted in a mangroveforest located along the Shark River in the Everglades National Park, FL, USA. Forest-atmosphere turbulent exchanges of energy were quantified with an eddy covariance system installed on a 30-m-tall flux tower. Energy transport associated with tidal activity was calculated based on a coupled mass and energy balance approach. The mass balance included tidal flows and accumulation of water on the forest floor. The energy balance included temporal changes in enthalpy, resulting from tidal flows and temperature changes in the water column. By serving as a net sink or a source of available energy, flood waters reduced the impact of high radiational loads on the mangroveforest. Also, the regression slope of available energy versus sink terms increased from 0.730 to 0.754 and from 0.798 to 0.857, including total enthalpy change in the water column in the surface energy balance for 30-min periods and daily daytime sums, respectively. Results indicated that tidal inundation provides an important mechanism for heat removal and that tidal exchange should be considered in surface energy budgets of coastal ecosystems. Results also demonstrated the importance of including tidal energy advection in mangrove biophysical models that are used for predicting ecosystem response to changing climate and regional freshwater management practices.

Measurements of litter fall and litter removal by crabs, in conjunction with estimates of litter decay by microbes and tidal export of litter from three high-intertidal mangroveforests were made during a year-long study in tropical northeastern Australia. In forests dominated by Ceriops tagal and Bruguiera exaristata, litter standing stocks remained low on the forest floor (mean 6 g·m-2), although

Since the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the role of mangroveforests as natural defenses protecting coastal communities from tsunami disaster has been highlighted. However, some mangroveforests were destroyed by that tsunami. They are expected to have lost their protective functions. In this study, we develop a fragility function to assess the mangrove trees' vulnerability, expressed as the damage probability of mangrove trees, based on field surveys and numerical modeling of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Based on the fragility function, we reconstruct a numerical model of tsunami inundation including the performance of mangroveforests in terms of reducing tsunami damage. The model reveals that a 10 year old mangroveforest in a 500 m wide area can reduce a tsunami's hydrodynamic force by approximately 70% for an incident wave of 3.0 m inundation depth and a wave period of 40 min at the shoreline. The model also shows, for a tsunami inundation depth of greater than 4 m, that a 10 year old mangroveforest would be mostly destroyed and that it would lose its force reduction capacity. Moreover, approximately 80% of a 30 year old mangroveforest would survive a 5 m tsunami and absorb 50% of the tsunami's hydrodynamic force.

Mangrove cover changes have globally raised the apprehensions as the changes influence the coastal climate as well as the marine ecosystem services. The main goals of this research are focused on the monitoring of land cover and mangrove spatial changes particularly for the Mundra forest in the western coast of Gujarat state, India, which is famous for its unique mangrove bio-diversity. The multi-temporal Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Linear Imaging Self Scanning (LISS)-II (IRS-1B) and III (IRS P6/RESOURCESAT-1) images captured in the year 1994 and 2010 were utilized for the spatio-temporal analysis of the area. The land cover and mangrove density was estimated by a unique hybrid classification which consists of K means unsupervised following maximum likelihood classification (MLC) supervised classification-based approach. The vegetation and non-vegetation layers has been extracted and separated by unsupervised classification technique while the training-based MLC was applied on the separated vegetation and non-vegetation classes to classify them into 11 land use/land cover classes. The climatic variables of the area involves wind, temperature, dew point, precipitation, and mean sea level investigated for the period of 17 years over the site. To understand the driving factors, the anthropogenic variables were also taken into account such as historical population datasets. The overall analysis indicates a significant change in the frequency and magnitude of sea-level rise from 1994 to 2010. The analysis of the meteorological variables indicates a high pressure and changes in mangrove density during the 17 years of time, which reveals that if appropriate actions are not initiated soon, the Mundra mangroves might become the victims of climate change-induced habitat loss. After analyzing all the factors, some recommendations and suggestions are provided for effective mangrove conservation and resilience, which could be used by forest official to protect this precious ecosystem.

Separation of live and dead fine roots is a critical process in studies of fine root dynamics, but many studies use subjective visual cues during time-consuming hand sorting of root samples, or do not attempt separation at all. Here we describe a method for separating fine roots from mangroveforests using solutions of colloidal silica. The method removed 96±2% (standard

Measurements of net photosynthesis in mangrove communities by direct methods is technically and logistically difficult. Recording litter fall alone neglects other important components of production. A method has been developed which lends itself to ready application for obtaining survey estimates of photosynthetic yield. The procedure involves measurement of light attenuation through forest canopies attributable to photosynthetic utilization and standardized against

Substantial amounts of dead wood in the intertidal zone of mature mangroveforests are tunnelled by teredinid bivalves. When the tunnels are exposed, animals are able to use tunnels as refuges. In this study, the effect of teredinid tunnelling upon mangroveforest faunal diversity was investigated. Mangroveforests exposed to long emersion times had fewer teredinid tunnels in wood and wood not containing teredinid tunnels had very few species and abundance of animals. However, with a greater cross-sectional percentage surface area of teredinid tunnels, the numbers of species and abundance of animals was significantly higher. Temperatures within teredinid-attacked wood were significantly cooler compared with air temperatures, and animal abundance was greater in wood with cooler temperatures. Animals inside the tunnels within the wood may avoid desiccation by escaping the higher temperatures. Animals co-existing in teredinid tunnelled wood ranged from animals found in terrestrial ecosystems including centipedes, crickets and spiders, and animals found in subtidal marine ecosystems such as fish, octopods and polychaetes. There was also evidence of breeding within teredinid-attacked wood, as many juvenile individuals were found, and they may also benefit from the cooler wood temperatures. Teredinid tunnelled wood is a key low-tide refuge for cryptic animals, which would otherwise be exposed to fishes and birds, and higher external temperatures. This study provides evidence that teredinids are ecosystem engineers and also provides an example of a mechanism whereby mangroveforests support intertidal biodiversity and nurseries through the wood-boring activity of teredinids.

Undergrowth species diversity was investigated by random quadrat method. Ordination and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were produced by the CANOCO program and Cluster analysis was done by the SAS (Statistical Analylitical System, sixth version) program. 48 undergrowth species were recorded in the Sundarban mangroveforest belonging to the dominant families such as Fabaceae (Cynometra ramiflora, Dalbergia spinosa, Derris trifoliata), Poaceae (Myriostachya

The mangroveforests of Australasia have many endemic bird species but their evolution and radiation in those habitats has been little studied. One genus with several mangrove specialist species is Gerygone (Passeriformes: Acanthizidae). The phylogeny of the Acanthizidae is reasonably well understood but limited taxon sampling for Gerygone has constrained understanding of its evolution and historical biogeography in mangroves. Here we report on a phylogenetic analysis of Gerygone based on comprehensive taxon sampling and a multilocus dataset of thirteen loci spread across the avian genome (eleven nuclear and two mitochondrial loci). Since Gerygone includes three species restricted to Australia's coastal mangroveforests, we particularly sought to understand the biogeography of their evolution in that ecosystem. Analyses of individual loci, as well as of a concatenated dataset drawn from previous molecular studies indicates that the genus as currently defined is not monophyletic, and that the Grey Gerygone (G. cinerea) from New Guinea should be transferred to the genus Acanthiza. The multilocus approach has permitted the nuanced view of the group's evolution into mangrove ecosystems having occurred on multiple occasions, in three non-overlapping time frames, most likely first by the G. magnirostris lineage, and subsequently followed by those of G. tenebrosa and G. levigaster. PMID:22363748

Feeding selectivity of sesarmid crabs from northern Australian mangroveforests Chandra P. Salgado Australia 6102, AUSTRALIA c.salgado@cmst.curtin.edu.au abStraCt Sesarmid crabs are possibly one of the most by feeding on litterfall. Little is known about the influence of electivity on the role of crabs in mangrove

of the Asian tsunami of 2004 further highlight this protective role and provide a stark reminder demonstrate the value of mangroves for protecting property and livelihood from storm impacts. Observations have long been recognized by researchers [1Â­4]. But it was the Asian tsunami of 2004 that raised wider

The concentrations of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 22 individual PAH compounds in 42 surface sediments collected from the mangroveforest of Qeshm Island and Khamir Port (Persian Gulf) were analyzed. PAHs concentrations ranged from 259 to 5,376 ng g(-1) dry weight with mean and median values of 1,585 and 1,146 ng g(-1), respectively. The mangrove sediments had higher percentages of lower molecular weight PAHs and the PAH profiles were dominated by naphthalene. Ratio values of specific PAH compounds were calculated to evaluate the possible source of PAH contamination. This ratios suggesting that the mangrove sediments have a petrogenic input of PAHs. Sediment quality guidelines were conducted to assess the toxicity of PAH compounds. The levels of total PAHs at all of stations except one station, namely Q6, were below the effects range low. Also, concentrations of naphthalene in some stations exceeded the effects range median. PMID:22930186

Mangroveforests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs may occur as adjacent ecosystems in tropical coastal zones, where tide-mediated chemical fluxes allow one system to influence another. Previously, stable carbon isotope (13C12C) analyses have been used to show that outwelling of carbon from the mangroveforest of Gazi Bay (Kenya) was followed by trapping of this element in the adjacent seagrass

This nonprofit organization provides information about the biology and ecology of mangrove species, the distribution of mangroveforests and importance of mangrove ecosystems to wildlife and people worldwide. Photos, slide show, current issues and links to related sites are provided. Threats to mangroves are described and sustainable alternatives, based on pilot projects, are presented. Appropriate for grades 8 and up.

The structure and standing crop biomass of a dwarf mangroveforest, located in the salinity transition zone ofTaylor River Slough in the Everglades National Park, were studied. Although the four mangrove species reported for Florida occurred at the study site, dwarf Rhizophora mangle trees dominated the forest. The structural characteristics of the mangroveforest were relatively simple: tree height varied from 0.9 to 1.2 meters, and tree density ranged from 7062 to 23 778 stems haa??1. An allometric relationship was developed to estimate leaf, branch, prop root, and total aboveground biomass of dwarf Rhizophora mangle trees. Total aboveground biomass and their components were best estimated as a power function of the crown area times number of prop roots as an independent variable (Y = B ?? Xa??0.5083). The allometric equation for each tree component was highly significant (p<0.0001), with all r2 values greater than 0.90. The allometric relationship was used to estimate total aboveground biomass that ranged from 7.9 to 23.2 ton haa??1. Rhizophora mangle contributed 85% of total standing crop biomass. Conocarpus erectus, Laguncularia racemosa, and Avicennia germinans contributed the remaining biomass. Average aboveground biomass allocation was 69% for prop roots, 25% for stem and branches, and 6% for leaves. This aboveground biomass partitioning pattern, which gives a major role to prop roots that have the potential to produce an extensive root system, may be an important biological strategy in response to low phosphorus availability and relatively reduced soils that characterize mangroveforests in South Florida.

Diurnal changes in the biochemical properties and the benthic macrofaunal assemblage of sediments in urbanised mangroveforests\\u000a and their adjacent mudflats in Sydney Harbour were investigated. Behavioural and physiological changes in the microphytobenthos\\u000a between day and night were predicted to cause diurnal changes in the micro-scale depth distribution of chlorophylls a and b and colloidal carbohydrate. In addition, because macrofauna

Simultaneous measurements of vertical accretion from artificial soil marker horizons and soil elevation change from sedimentation-erosion table (SET) plots were used to evaluate the processes related to soil building in range, basin, and overwash mangroveforests located in a low-energy lagoon which recieves minor inputs of terregenous sediments. Vertical accretion measures reflect the contribution of surficial sedimentation (sediment deposition and surface root growth). Measures of elevation change reflect not only the contributions of vertical accretion but also those of subsurface processes such as compaction, decomposition and shrink-swell. The two measures were used to calculate amounts of shallow subsidence (accretion minus elevation change) in each mangroveforest. The three forest types represent different accretionary envrionments. The basin forest was located behind a natural berm. Hydroperiod here was controlled primarily by rainfall rather than tidal exchange, although the basin flooded during extreme tidal events. Soil accretion here occurred primarily by autochthonous organic matter inputs, and elevation was controlled by accretion and shrink-swell of the substrate apparently related to cycles of flooding-drying and/or root growth-decomposition. This hydrologically-restricted forest did not experience an accretion or elevation deficit relative to sea-level rise. The tidally dominated fringe and overwash island forests accreted through mineral sediment inputs bound in place by plant roots. Filamentous turf algae played an important role in stabilizing loose muds in the fringe forest where erosion was prevalent. Elevation in these high-energy environments was controlled not only by accretion but also by erosion and/or shallow subsidence. The rate of shallow subsidence was consistently 3-4 mm y-1 in the fringe and overwash island forests but was negligible in the basin forest. Hence, the vertical development of mangrove soils was influenced by both surface and subsurface processes and the procces controlling soil elevation differed among forest types. The mangrove ecosystem at Rookery Bay has remained stable as sea level has risen during the past 70 years. Yet, lead-210 accretion data suggest a substantial accretion deficit has occurred in the past century (accretion was 10-20 cm < sea-level rise from 1930 to 1990) in the fringe and island forests at Rookery Bay. In contrast, our measures of elevation change mostly equalled the estimates of sea-level rise and shallow subsidence. These data suggest that (1) vertical accretion in this system is driven by local sea-level rise and shallow subsidence, and (2) the mangroveforests are mostly keeping pace with sea-level rise. Thus, the vulnerability of this mangrove ecosystem to sea-level rise is best described in terms of an elevation deficit (elevation change minus sea-level rise) based on annual measures rather than an accretion deficit (accretion minus sea-level rise) based on decadal measures.

We report on net ecosystem production (NEP) and key environmental controls on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) between a mangroveforest and the atmosphere in the coastal Florida Everglades. An eddy covariance system deployed above the canopy was used to determine NEE during January 2004 through August 2005. Maximum daytime NEE ranged from -20 to -25 ?mol (CO2) m-2 s-1 between March and May. Respiration (Rd) was highly variable (2.81 ± 2.41 ?mol (CO2) m-2 s-1), reaching peak values during the summer wet season. During the winter dry season, forest CO2 assimilation increased with the proportion of diffuse solar irradiance in response to greater radiative transfer in the forest canopy. Surface water salinity and tidal activity were also important controls on NEE. Daily light use efficiency was reduced at high (>34 parts per thousand (ppt)) compared to low (<17 ppt) salinity by 46%. Tidal inundation lowered daytime Rd by ˜0.9 ?mol (CO2) m-2 s-1 and nighttime Rd by ˜0.5 ?mol (CO2) m-2 s-1. The forest was a sink for atmospheric CO2, with an annual NEP of 1170 ± 127 g C m-2 during 2004. This unusually high NEP was attributed to year-round productivity and low ecosystem respiration which reached a maximum of only 3 g C m-2 d-1. Tidal export of dissolved inorganic carbon derived from belowground respiration likely lowered the estimates of mangroveforest respiration. These results suggest that carbon balance in mangrove coastal systems will change in response to variable salinity and inundation patterns, possibly resulting from secular sea level rise and climate change.

Industrial and urban residues are discharged every day to the rivers and may arrive at the mangroveforest and prejudice the quality of the environment and the organisms present there. The mangroveforest patch studied is encircled by an urban area of the city of Recife (Brazil) that has approximate 1.5 million inhabitants and is one of the most industrialized centers in Northeast Brazil. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the sediments of this mangrove patch in terms of metal contamination and ecotoxicology. Samples of surface sediment were collected in six stations for toxicological tests and trace metal determination (Cr, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Pb, Co and Ni), in July and August, 2006 (rainy season); and in January and February 2007 (dry season). Toxicity tests with solid-phase sediments were carried out with the copepod Tisbe biminiensis in order to observe lethal and sub-lethal endpoints and correlate them with chemical data. In June, there were no observed lethal effect, but two stations presented sub-lethal effects. In January, lethal effect occurred in three stations and sub-lethal in one station. The levels for Zn and Cr were at higher levels than international proposed guidelines (NOAA). There was a negative significant correlation between the copepods? fecundity, and Zn and Cr concentrations. Therefore, the studied sediments can be considered to have potential toxic to benthos due to the high content of Zn and Cr. PMID:24747926

Hydrological and geomorphological processes are key to mangroveforest growth and development. However, very few studies have been carried out in Central American mangroves to understand their hydrological functioning. Here, a small mangroveforest (0.2 km2) in the South Pacific coast of Nicaragua was investigated to determine sources of freshwater inputs and fluxes of water and nutrients to the sea during the dry season. The general groundwater flow direction is from NE to SW towards the sea. The aquifer is composed of clay and alluvial deposits overlying a fractured shale unit. Shallow groundwater is influenced by a nearby town through infiltration of grey water and pit latrines. Groundwater from the mangrove showed Mn2+ and Fe2+ presence indicating occurrence of denitrification and the role of the mangrove as a nutrient sink. Also, refreshening and salinization processes were identified near the river, indicated by different water facies. Freshwater inputs from precipitation and groundwater discharge maintain adequate salt gradients. The water balance showed an increase of around 619 m3 d-1 in storage during a 22 study period during the dry season, which is reflected by increased hydraulic heads and river stage. Water storage is fostered by low conductivity soil materials and beach ridges parallel to the coast line, whereby the latter occassionally breach due to overtopping of surface water. These conditions favor forest subsistence during the dry season, allowing the mangrove to continue to provide ecological and economic benefits in terms of protection against flooding, habitat for numerous species and tourist attraction.

Tsunami attenuation by coastal vegetation was examined under laboratory conditions for mature mangroves Rhizophora sp. The developed novel tree parameterization concept, accounting for both bio-mechanical and structural tree properties, allowed to substitute the complex tree structure by a simplified tree model of identical hydraulic resistance. The most representative parameterized mangrove model was selected among the tested models with different frontal area and root density, based on hydraulic test results. The selected parameterized tree models were arranged in a forest model of different width and further tested systematically under varying incident tsunami conditions (solitary waves and tsunami bores). The damping performance of the forest models under these two flow regimes was compared in terms of wave height and force envelopes, wave transmission coefficient as well as drag and inertia coefficients. Unlike the previous studies, the results indicate a significant contribution of the foreshore topography to solitary wave energy reduction through wave breaking in comparison to that attributed to the forest itself. A similar rate of tsunami transmission (ca. 20%) was achieved for both flow conditions (solitary waves and tsunami bores) and the widest forest (75 m in prototype) investigated. Drag coefficient CD attributed to the solitary waves tends to be constant (CD = 1.5) over the investigated range of the Reynolds number.

Background Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangroveforests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangroveforests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patterns of subsistence uses of mangrove wood products around the Douala-Edea reserve. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 120 active mangrove loggers in 23 Douala wood markets and 103 households located in three villages (Mbiako, Yoyo I and Yoyo II) close to Douala-Edea reserve. In each of the three densely populated villages, every second household was chosen for sampling while in all markets, mangrove loggers were chosen randomly. In addition, log diameters were measured in each market using a wooden foldable tape measure. A post hoc analysis (Newman-Keuls test) was performed in order to detect the common wood class diameter sold in the Douala wood markets. Results The analysis of the loggers' survey data has shown that large logs of Rhizophora with diameter greater than 40 cm were common in the Douala wood markets and were more closely associated with loggers who used chainsaws. In addition to the general mangroves wood products selling, the analysis on a subsistence level (households' survey) suggests the local population's dependence on mangroves, with multiple uses of Rhizophora racemosa Meyer, R. harrisonii Leechman, Avicennia germinans L. Stearn., Laguncularia racemosa Gaertn. f. and Conocarpus erectus L. timbers for furniture, fences, smoking fish, and fuelwood. Finally, Nypa fruticans (Thunb.) Wurmb. leaves were used as thatching material for house walls and roofs. Conclusion Our findings revealed that big logs of Rhizophora were commonly sold by the loggers. A majority of loggers (60%) reported that mangrove marketed wood constitute a principal source of income. Most of the villagers (85.83%) often depend on mangroves for subsistence needs and for them there is no substitute for mangrove wood. Therefore, more efforts should be undertaken at the national level to implement conservation, management and sustainable use of these coastal forests. PMID:19919680

Sampling fishes in vegetated intertidal wetlands is logistically challenging. We modified the 2 ?? 3-m2 bottomless lift net developed for sampling nekton (fish and decapod crustaceans) on the surface of salt marshes for use in tidal mangroveforests with a woody (as opposed to herbaceous) underground root system. As originally designed (Rozas, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 89:287-292, 1992), the lift net was buried directly in the marsh substrate. The net was raised at slack high tide thereby encircling nekton within the enclosed area. A chain-line on the net bottom prevented escape under the net once deployed. However, when we used this same design in tidal mangroveforests, the extensive woody roots and occasional slumping sediments resulted in uneven trenches that could not be cleared effectively during sample recovery. We made 3 modifications to the original net design: (i) lined the peat trenches with aluminum channels of uniform width and depth; (ii) replaced the previous chain-line with Velcro closures that directly attached the net to the inner face of the outer wall of the aluminum channel; and (iii) removed the subtidal pan previously used for concentrating the enclosed nekton at low tide, and filled in those depressions with on-site peat. In the modified version, the aluminum trench became the only subtidal refuge available to nekton, and it was from here that we collected the sample after the forest drained. These modifications permitted high clearing efficiency (93-100%) of fin-clipped individuals of two common species of estuarine resident fishes, Kryptolebias marmoratus (mangrove rivulus) and Bathygobius soporator (frillfin goby). Additionally, the density estimates of grass shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) increased 10-fold post-modification. ?? 2010 US Government.

Wetlands are recognized as potentially important carbon sinks, but few studies have focused on tropical and sub-tropical systems that accumulate organic carbon. Soil organic carbon (SOC) density was analyzed in multiple mangroveforests, representing 30 geographic locations and six forest types (total of 230 study plots overall). SOC density varied from 0.002 to 0.1 g cm-3, with an overall average of 0.019 and 0.058 g cm-3 in mineral and organic soils, respectively. Sites spanned a latitudinal range from 37° S to 29° N, and carbon density was correlated with average annual temperature. However, high variation in SOC density within latitude indicated additional influences. At a regional scale, SOC density varied with forest type and generally increased with hydrologic energy. At a site in Panama, SOC density varied spatially with soil pore space, which influenced bulk density and soil temperature—indicating an influence of compaction and/or degree of decomposition. Carbon sequestration rates estimated from surface accretion of organic C were similar in organic (216 g C m-2 yr-1) and mineral (145 g C m-2 yr-1) soil types, but varied across geographic locations (41 to 591 g C m-2 yr-1). Subsurface inputs of carbon, which were estimated using measured rates of root matter accumulation and root carbon content, averaged 121 g m-2 yr-1, but exceeded 400 g m-2 yr-1 at several sites. Depths of mangrove peat varied across sites from < 1 m to over 10 m, indicating the potentially large carbon stores that can develop under certain conditions. Rates of carbon accretion at a site in Belize have varied from 90 to 300 g C m-2 yr-1 over 8000 yr. These patterns indicate spatial and temporal variability in SOC and suggest multiple controls on rates of carbon accumulation in mangrove ecosystems.

A study on floristic composition and estimation of above ground biomass of trees was carried out in two areas of disturbed mangroves at Kisap Forest Reserve, Pulau Langkawi. Two compartments that were selected was based on the different types of disturbances, i.e. compartment 5 (C5) was disrupted by human harvesting activities of mangrove trees for charcoal production, while compartment 7 (C7) was naturally disturbed from lightning strikes. In C5, a total of 1,217 trees measuring 1 cm DBH and above were enumerated in the plots of 0.25 ha which included 7 species and 5 genera in 3 families, i.e. Rhizophoraceae, Meliaceae and Avicenniaceae. In C7, a total of 390 individual trees of 8 species, 5 genera and 3 families were recorded. The three families recorded in C7 were also common in C5. Rhizophoraceae was recorded as the family with highest density in both compartments. Ceriops tagal had the highest density in C5, while Rhizophora apiculata was the most prominent species in the C7. Total basal area that represents tree coverage showed C5 had a value of 7.767 m2/ha with C. tagal as the major contributor at 5.022m2/ha. Total coverage in C7 was 18.184 m2/ha that was mostly contributed by R. apiculata at 11.135 m2/ha. Ceriops tagal (22.41 t/ha) and R. apiculata (111.75 t/ha), were the main contributors to the total biomass in C5 (37.34 t/ha) and C7 (162.29 t/ha), respectively. The distribution of individuals of six tree size classes in C7 was homogenous compared to that of C5, which had more saplings. In this study, the total biomass indicated that anthropogenic activities resulted in lower productivity of forest compared to natural disturbance. Therefore, conservation efforts of mangroveforest should be enhance in the management of mangroveforest in Pulau Langkawi.

The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) and Forest Inventory and Analyses (FIA) programs are integrated biological monitoring systems that use nationally standardized methods to evaluate and report on the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems in the United States. Many of the anticipated changes in forest ecosystems from climate change were also issues addressed in sections of FHM's National Technical Report

Quantitative data on leaf litter removal activity of macrozoobenthic organisms in the mangroveforests of East Africa are virtually non-existent. In the present study, litter removal activity was determined in two contrasting types of mangrove stands in Gazi Bay (Kenya). In the relatively elevated Ceriops tagal vegetation, which is only flooded during spring tides, the detritivorous snail Terebralia palustris (Linnaeus)

Physiological processes and local-scale structural dynamics of mangroves are relatively well studied. Regional-scale processes,\\u000a however, are not as well understood. Here we provide long-term data on trends in structure and forest turnover at a large\\u000a scale, following hurricane damage in mangrove ecosystems of South Florida, U.S.A. Twelve mangrove vegetation plots were monitored\\u000a at periodic intervals, between October 1992 and March

Coastal tropical and subtropical environments, where there are distinct seasonal shifts in precipitation, can be highly susceptible to environmental changes caused by increasing anthropogenic pressure (e.g., urbanization, deforestation) in addition to natural "press and pulse" events, such as sea-level rise, tropical storms, and a changing climate. These man-made and natural perturbations directly affect the quality and quantity of water flowing through the ecosystem, both on the surface and subsurface. Changes in groundwater and surface water interactions will impact ecological communities, including highly vulnerable coastal mangrove communities. Nearly 1,445 km2 of mangroves cover Everglades National Park along the southern and southwestern coast of Florida. Rising sea levels, a predicted drier climate, and increased water demand may accelerate the landward migration of salt water intrusion which poses threats to the ecological communities along this coastal ecotone. This is a growing concern for the region and it is necessary that we understand the present hydrogeologic conditions to better monitor and model the future and inevitable changes to the coastal environment. The purpose of this preliminary study was to test the feasibility of measuring water quality indirectly from the spectral responses of mangrove vegetation on a regional scale. Spectra-derived biophysical indices were used to assess various relationships between the spectral signatures of the 3 main mangrove species (i.e., Avicennia germinans, Rhizophora mangle, and Laguncularia racemosa) and the ionic and nutrient concentrations in the porewater (i.e., 20cm and 100cm depths), surface water, and groundwater of the mangrove ecotone. Water samples from these sources were collected during the dry season, a transitional period, and the wet season at three sites in large, high-biomass mangroves along Shark River and two sites in dwarf, low-biomass, mangroves along Taylor River. Water samples were analyzed for major ions (e.g, Cl-, SO42-, Na2+, Mg2+, K+, and Ca2+) and nutrients (e.g., total organic carbon, N and P). The spectral responses of each of the mangrove species were collected in-situ within a few days of the water sampling. Initial results illustrate good correlations (R2>0.65; P<0.05) between various spectra-derived biophysical indices (e.g., EVI, NDVI) and porewater chloride concentrations. Other correlations demonstrate complex relationships between total N and P concentrations and site-specific mangrove spectra, suggesting physiological differences of nutrient uptake induced by salinity-related stress. The findings suggest the potential for upscaling these relationships using airborne and satellite hyperspectral imagery (e.g., AVIRIS, Hyperion) in order to monitor salt-water intrusion remotely on a regional scale. Further investigations with this research could provide insight to water and carbon flux dynamics within the Everglades and similar coastal mangrove ecosystems throughout the world.

In this review paper, we aim to describe the potential for, and the key challenges to, applying PES projects to mangroves. By adopting a "carbocentric approach," we show that mangroveforests are strong candidates for PES projects. They are particularly well suited to the generation of carbon credits because of their unrivaled potential as carbon sinks, their resistance and resilience to natural hazards, and their extensive provision of Ecosystem Services other than carbon sequestration, primarily nursery areas for fish, water purification and coastal protection, to the benefit of local communities as well as to the global population. The voluntary carbon market provides opportunities for the development of appropriate protocols and good practice case studies for mangroves at a small scale, and these may influence larger compliance schemes in the future. Mangrove habitats are mostly located in developing countries on communally or state-owned land. This means that issues of national and local governance, land ownership and management, and environmental justice are the main challenges that require careful planning at the early stages of mangrove PES projects to ensure successful outcomes and equitable benefit sharing within local communities. PMID:24817088

Mangrove ecosystems are believed to be highly productive, storing carbon at rates as high as or higher than terrestrial tropical rainforests. Their high productivity is reflected in the high levels of organic carbon stored within, and exported from, these ecosystems. This includes so-called blue carbon - carbon of terrestrial origin sequestered in coastal margins. Despite their potential importance, significant knowledge gaps exist both in the magnitudes of the components of mangrove carbon balance, and the factors controlling them. These gaps result from the lack of primary datasets, which is itself a consequence of the complex nature of mangrove ecosystems, and of the difficult working conditions found there. Here, we report on a study designed to elucidate some of the environmental controls on the exchange of CO2 and CH4 to and from intact mangrove ecosystems in East Africa. Gazi Bay (4° 25'S, 39° 30'E), south of Mombasa, Kenya, encompasses around 600 ha of mangroveforest, including partially and severely degraded stands as well as restored areas. The area contains all 10 species of mangrove found in East Africa, including mono-specific areas of the two most common species, Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata, sufficiently extensive for robust eddy covariance (EC) measurements. During 2012, open path EC measurements were made at both Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata sites throughout a spring/neap tidal cycle. Flux data were fitted to a simple model describing the ecosystem level response to environmental variables. Stands of both species exhibited higher maximum net ecosystem uptake, but lower apparent quantum efficiency and lower dark respiration when inundated by high tides. Maximum net ecosystem uptake was higher in Rhizophora (12.8 (dry) - 16.5 (wet) ?mol m-2 s-1) than in Avicennia (5.1 (dry) - 5.9 (wet) ?mol m-2 s-1). Apparent quantum efficiency was twice as high in Rhizophora (0.09 (wet) - 0.12 (dry) mol mol-1) than in Avicennia (0.03 (wet) - 0.06 (dry) mol mol-1). Dark respiration rates were broadly similar when the tide was out (8.3 ?mol m-2 s-1 (Rhizophora), 7.3 ?mol m-2 s-1 (Avicennia)), but high tide reduced respiration much more in Avicennia (0.5 ?mol m-2 s-1) than in Rhizophora (7.5 ?mol m-2 s-1). Methane exchange between the Rhizophora ecosystem and the atmosphere was small and dependant on tidal state, varying between a methane consumption of around 0.2 mg (C) m-2 hr-1 at low and incoming tide to a methane production of around 2.5 mg (C) m-2 hr-1 during outgoing tides. The Avicennia ecosystem was consistently a small consumer of methane (ca. 0.2 mg (C) m-2 hr-1).

Accurately quantifying forest 3-D structure and biomass storage is of great importance for studies of the global carbon cycle, biodiversity and for future REDD projects. Mangroveforests have been shown to store very large amounts of Carbon, both above and belowground, with storage capacities even greater than tropical rainforests. They also present an ideal terrain for active remote sensing measurements of vegetation structure because of the flat underlying topography. In this case, discrete lidar measurements, such as those of the ICESat/GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) sensor are able to measure tree height at high accuracy within the footprint. In this study we combine and compare Lidar, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and polarimetric SARto derive mangrove 3D structure and biomass maps for Central and South America. In particular, we used field data, C-band SRTM InSAR and ICEsat/GLAS waveform returns to derive mean canopy height. We used the SRTM height measurements, L-band ALOS/PALSAR backscatter, Landsat TM derived mangrove cover maps, field measurements and published biomass data to estimate aboveground biomass and carbon. We also test and compare several height and biomass measurement techniques and estimate the error associated, with a focus on height-biomass relationships. This study provides the first systematic estimates of regional mangrove height and biomass of Central and South America.

This study provides the first quantification of the population food intake of the litter-consuming mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Ocypodidae, L. 1763) in a New World mangroveforest. Diet, feeding periodicity, gastric evacuation rates and size-dependent consumption were determined for this intensively exploited semi-terrestrial crab in different types of mangroveforest. Unlike many other crabs Ucides cordatus is a continuous feeder, as shown by gastrointestinal contents over a day's cycle. Starvation experiments revealed that most gastric evacuation occurs during the first 12 h after feeding, following an exponential decay function. Evacuation rates (0.35 h -1 and 0.31 h -1) for small (carapace width CW 2.5-3.5 cm) and large (CW 6.5-7.5 cm) crabs, respectively, and the mean daily gastrointestinal contents were used to calculate the daily food intake (DFI) of U. cordatus for both sexes and different size classes. DFI was strongly correlated to body size and ranged from 19.8 to 6.0% of body dry weight in small and large crabs, respectively. The daily energy intake of U. cordatus (37.6 kJ for a 65 g wet weight specimen) was high when compared to other leaf-eating crabs. Litter fall and propagule production were calculated as 16.38 t ha -1 y -1, corresponding to a daily mean of 4.49 g m -2 in a high intertidal Rhizophora mangle forest stand. The estimated population food intake of Ucides cordatus (4.1 g dw m -2 d -1) corresponds to 81.3% of this production. This high litter removal rate, a low litter quantity in burrows and high consumption rates during field experiments suggest that the local crab population is food-limited in many parts of the study area. The very efficient coupling of forest litter production and crab litter consumption is possible due to the high crab density and the low inundation frequency of the mangroveforests, allowing for prolonged foraging periods. By processing the major part of the litter, U. cordatus helps to retain nutrients and energy within the mangrove ecosystem. The impact of this species on litter turnover in a New World mangrove is similar to or even higher than that of litter-feeding sesarmid crabs in the Indo-West Pacific region.

The atmospheric concentration of SO{sub 2} was monitored in two different sites, Khulna and Savar in Bangladesh as a part of Rains Asia Atmos Module, Phase I Project. The results show that the winter concentration of SO{sub 2} in Khulna is 3 to 4 times higher than the summer concentrations, which is also higher compared to measurements at Savar which is adjacent to Dhaka city. Based on these facts and seasonal wind pattern, trans-boundary air pollution has been suggested. Khulna is in the southwestern part of Bangladesh and this area harbors the largest mangroveforest of the world, the Sundarbans. Sundari trees are the main trees of the Sundarban ecosystem. During the last few years, many of the Sundari trees, which are quite susceptible to pH stress, are dying from the top. The unusual winter increase of atmospheric sulphurdioxide has been assigned to be one of the reasons for the top dying. Other factors might be the increase of salinity and diminished flow of water.

We studied the ecology of four species of coastal marine.homalopsine snakes (Oriental- Australian rear-fanged water snakes) in the Pasir Ris Park mangroveforest, Singapore, using survey methods and radiotelemetry. The snake assemblage at Pasir Ris (220 snakes collected) was dominated by Cerberus rynchops (72.7% of total snakes), a medium-sized piscivore. Three species of crustacean eaters were also present, but less

Coastal wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico have been experiencing significant shifts in hydrology and salinity levels over the past century as a result of changes in sea level and freshwater drainage patterns. Local land management in coastal zones has also impacted the hydrologic regimes of salt marshes and mangrove areas. Parks and refuges in south Florida that contain mangroveforests have, in some cases, been ditched or impounded to control mosquito outbreaks and to foster wildlife use. And while mangroves dominate the subtropical coastlines of Florida and thrive in saltwater environments, little is known about how they respond to changes in hydrology under managed or variable tidal conditions. USGS researchers designed a study to evaluate the basic hydrological requirements of mangroves so that their health and survival may be more effectively managed in controlled impoundments and restored wetlands. Mangroves are commonly found in the intertidal zone (between low and high tides) in a rather broad spectrum of hydrologic settings. Because they thrive at the interface of land and sea, mangroves are subject to changes in freshwater flow (flow rate, nutrients, pollutants) and to marine influences (sea-level rise, salinity). Salinity has long been recognized as a controlling factor that determines the health and distribution of mangroveforests. Field and experimental observations indicate that most mangrove species achieve their highest growth potential under brackish conditions (modest salinity) between 10 and 20 parts per thousand (ppt). Yet, if provided with available propagules, successful regeneration, and limited competition from other plants, then mangroves can survive and thrive in freshwater systems as well. Because little is known about the growthand survival patterns of mangrove species relative to changing hydrology, USGS scientists conducted greenhouse and field experiments to determine how flooded or drained patterns of hydrology would influence growth of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle (fig. 1). Red mangrove propagules (recruits) of select sizes and genotypes (i.e., genetically similar groups) were planted both in greenhouses and in the field. Seedling growth was monitored in both studies on a quarterly basis for over a year; measurements included shoot growth, seedling height, and a final harvest of plant biomass.

Typhoons are very unpredictable natural disturbances to subtropical mangroveforests in Asian countries, but little information is available on how these disturbances affect ecosystem level carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange of mangrove wetlands. In this study, we examined short-term effect of frequent strong typhoons on defoliation and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of subtropical mangroves, and also synthesized 19 typhoons during a 4-year period between 2009 and 2012 to further investigate the regulation mechanisms of typhoons on ecosystem carbon and water fluxes following typhoon disturbances. Strong wind and intensive rainfall caused defoliation and local cooling effect during the typhoon season. Daily total NEE values decreased by 26-50% following some typhoons (e.g., W28-Nockten, W35-Molave and W35-Lio-Fan), but significantly increased (43-131%) following typhoon W23-Babj and W38-Megi. The magnitudes and trends of daily NEE responses were highly variable following different typhoons, which were determined by the balance between the variances of gross ecosystem production (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (RE). Furthermore, results from our synthesis indicated that the landfall time of typhoon, wind speed and rainfall were the most important factors controlling the CO2 fluxes following typhoon events. These findings indicate that different types of typhoon disturbances can exert very different effects on CO2 fluxes of mangrove ecosystems and that typhoon will likely have larger impacts on carbon cycle processes in subtropical mangrove ecosystems as the intensity and frequency of typhoons are predicted to increase under future global climate change scenarios.

Field measurements on leaf removal by populations of sesarmid crabs at different locations in the Bangrong mangroveforest, Phuket, Thailand, indicated that crabs on average can remove 87% of the daily leaf litter fall by ingestion or burial. The removal rate is correlated positively with the number of crab burrows and negatively with tidal inundation time. The results from the field were supplemented with observations on the behavior of Neoepisesarma versicolor in laboratory microcosms and a mangrove mesocosm. N. versicolor feeds primarily at night and total time spent feeding was up to an order of magnitude higher in the artificial microcosms than under simulated in situ conditions in the mesocosm. Most of the time during both day and night was spent resting near the entrance or inside burrows. N. versicolor mainly feeds on mangrove leaves and scraps of food material from the sediment surface. This is supported by examinations of stomach content, which showed that 62% is composed of higher plant material and 38% of detritus and mineral particles from the sediment. The nutritive value of leaves and detritus is insufficient to maintain crab growth. Sesarmid crabs may instead obtain the needed nutrients by occasional consumption of nitrogen-rich animal tissues, such as carcasses of fish and crustaceans, as indicated by the presence of animal remains in the stomach and the willingness of crabs to consume fish meat. Laboratory experiments on leaf consumption and leaf preferences of N. versicolor indicate that they preferentially feed on brown leaves, if available, followed by green and yellow leaves. If all species of sesarmid crabs in the Bangrong mangroveforest consume leaves at the same rate as N. versicolor, they could potentially ingest 52% of the total litter fall.

A coast in southern Vietnam, which is located in a wide and flat alluvial fan and neighbors tidal rivers fringed by wide mangrove swamps, has been eroded continuously by approximately 50 m\\/year since the early 20th century. Based on field observations and numerical experiments, it is inferred that this large scale erosion is caused by the transition of mangrove vegetation

Mangrove herbivores cause leaf serration, perforation and galls prior to leaf abscission. This study compared damage by herbivores on leaves of four mangrove species at sites under different levels of human physical disturbance, and provides further evidence of the indirect effects of man on these valuable habitats. From 2001 to 2003 leaves collected fortnightly using litter traps were examined for

Dynamics of nutrients (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in decomposing leaves was studied using litterbags in a subtropical mangrove dominated by Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (L.) Lamk and Kandelia candel (L.) Druce (Okinawa, Japan). In addition to fresh yellow leaves, degradation of treated leaves (dried at 50°C and 80°C) was also investigated. Comparison was made between species, locations (lower and upper mangroves) and

In contrast to the large number of studies on the trophic significance of mangrove primary production to the aquatic foodweb, there have been few attempts to provide an overview of the relative importance of different primary carbon sources to invertebrates in the intertidal mangrove habitats. We determined carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (ཉC, ཋN) in sediments, primary producers, and

Tropical coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, have a great ecological and socioeconomic importance for adjacent systems and local populations, but intensive environmental impact monitoring is still lacking, mainly in East Africa. This study evaluated the potential anthropogenic disturbance on Palaemon concinnus population structure and fitness. Palaemon concinnus populations from one peri-urban (domestic sewage impacted) and two pristine mangrove creeks were

Bangladesh, favoured by a tropical climate, houses the world’s largest stretch of mangrovesforests (Sundarbans Reserved Forest)\\u000a and plantations. Around half of the forests of the country occur in the coastal zone. People extract various goods and services\\u000a from the mangroves. Nevertheless the mangroveforests are depleting. Although the extent of the Sundarbans forest has not\\u000a changed much, its decline

Frequent updates concerning the progress of a forest fire are essential for effective and safe fire fighting. Since a forest fire is typically inaccessible by ground vehicles due to mountainous terrain, small unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are emerging as a promising means of monitoring large forest fires. We present an effective UAV path planning algorithm utilizing infrared images that are

This is a statistical summary of forest measurement data from the Forest Health Monitoring Network. here are now 925 plots in the FHM national network, of which 628 plots are forested. sing a probability sampling design, the installed plots are located systematically throughout t...

Spatial structural patterns emerging from local tree interactions influence growth, mortality and regeneration processes in forest ecosystems, and decoding them enhance the understanding of ecological mechanisms affecting forest regeneration. Point-Patterns analysis was applied for the very first time to mangrove ecology to explore the spatial structure of Rhizophora mucronata regeneration in a disturbed mangroveforest; and the pattern of associations of juvenile-adult trees. R. mucronata trees were mapped in plots of 50 m × 10 m located at the seaward, central and landward edge along 50 m wide transect in the forest, and the mapped patterns were analysed with pair correlation and mark-connection functions. The population density of R. mucronata differed along the tidal gradient with the highest density in the central region, and the least near the shoreline. The study revealed that short distance propagule dispersal, resulting in the establishment of juveniles in closed distance to the mother trees, might not be the driving force for distribution of this species. The spatial structural pattern of R. mucronata population along tidal gradient showed a characteristic spatial aggregation at small scale, but randomly distributed as the distances become larger. There was a distinct spatial segregation between recruits and adult trees, and hence spatially independent. Though, adult-adult trees associations did not show a clear spatial segregation pattern; the recruit-recruit species associations exhibited significant clustering in space. Although habitat heterogeneity might be responsible for the local scale aggregation in this population, the effect of plant-plant conspecific interactions is more probable to inform the long-term structure and dynamics of the population of R. mucronata, and ditto for the entire forest.

Mangroveforests are being threatened by accelerated climate change, sea level rise and coastal projects. Carbon/above ground biomass (AGB) losses due to natural or human intervention can affect global warming. Thus, it is important to monitor AGB fluctuations in mangroveforests similar to those inhabiting the Everglades National Park (ENP). Tree volume and tree wood specific density are two important measurements for the estimation of AGB (mass = volume * density). Wood specific density is acquired in the laboratory by analyzing stem cores acquired in the field. However, tree volume is a challenging task because trees resemble tapered surfaces. The majority of published studies estimate tree volume and biomass using allometric equations, which describe the size, shape, volume or AGB of a given population of trees. However, these equations can be extremely general and might not give a representative value of volume or AGB for a specific tree species. In order to have precise biomass estimations, other methodologies for tree volume estimation are needed. To overcome this problem, we use a state-of-the-art remote sensing tool known as ground-based LiDAR a.k.a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS), which can be used to precisely measure vegetation structure and tree volume from its 3-D point cloud. We surveyed three mangrove communities: (Rhizophora mangle, Laguncuria racemosa and Avicennia germinans) in three different sites along Shark River Slough (SRS), which is the primary source of water to the ENP. Our sites included: small-, intermediate- and tall- size mangroves. Our ground measurements included both: traditional forestry surveys and TLS surveys for tree attributes (tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH)) comparison. These attributes are used as input to allometric equations for the estimation of tree volume and AGB. A total of 25 scans were collected in 2011 with a Leica ScanStation C10 TLS. The 3-D point cloud acquired from the TLS data revealed that trees could be modeled as a combination of tapered geometric surfaces called frustums. The volume of the various geometric frustums can be estimated using specific mathematical formulas. We compared our TLS-derived tree volume/AGB versus published allometric equation-derived tree volume/AGB for our mangrove sites. Preliminary results yielded a good agreement between the TLS-derived and the allometric-derived biomass measurements, with TLS slightly underestimating it. In addition, we compared hand-measured tree attributes vs. TLS-measured tree attributes. Preliminary results showed that DBH can be precisely estimated with TLS. In the other hand, tree height can be estimated in places where there is low vegetation density due to point cloud occlusion and shadowing. We suggest that TLS shows potential to fill the gap between traditional forestry measurements and airborne LiDAR for forestry applications.

The Seychelles were severely affected by the December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Since the tsunami history of small islands often remains unclear due to a young historiography we conducted a study of onshore tsunami deposits on the Seychelles in order to understand the scale of impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and potential predecessors. As part of this project we found and studied onshore tsunami deposits in the mangroveforest at Old Turtle Pond bay on the east coast of Curieuse Island. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused a change of habitat due to sedimentation of an extended sand sheet in the mangroveforest. We present results of the first detailed sedimentological study of onshore tsunami deposits of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami conducted on the Seychelles. The Curieuse mangroveforest at Old Turtle Pond bay is part of the Curieuse Marine National Park. It is thus protected from anthropogenic interference. Towards the sea it was shielded until the tsunami by a 500 m long and 1.5 m high causeway which was set up in 1909 as a sediment trap. The causeway was destroyed by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The silt to fine sand sized and organic rich mangrove soil was subsequently covered by carbonate fine to medium sand (1.5 to 2.1 ?) containing coarser carbonate shell debris which had been trapped outside the mangrove bay before the tsunami. The tsunami deposited a sand sheet which is organized into different lobes. They extend landwards to different inundation distances as a function of morphology. Maximum inundation distance is 200 m. The sediments often cover the pneumatophores of the mangroves. No landward fining trend of the sand sheet has been observed. On the different sand lobes carbonate-cemented sandstone debris ranging in size from 0.5 up to 12 cm occurs. Also numerous mostly fragmented shells of bivalves and molluscs were distributed on top of the sand lobes. Intact bivalve shells were mostly positioned with the convex side upwards. On small ledges of a granitic body at 120 m from the shore fragmented and complete shells were deposited at different elevations of up to 4 m. This implies a run up height of at least 4 m above sea level at this distance from the shore. Our study presents the mapping of the tsunamigenic sand lobes, their grain size distribution and petrographic variations of their components compared to the mangrove soil. The difference in the grain size and amount of organic material of the mangrove soil compared to the sand lobes indicate that the coarser material was entrained from outside of the mangroveforest by the tsunami. The similarity of the grain size distributions of the sediment of the sand lobes and of a reference beach/intertidal sample suggests the lagoon between the mangroveforest and the causeway as the probable sediment source area. The fact that the mangroveforest is surrounded by granitic hills and the appearance of the carbonate sandstone debris mostly on the surface of the sand sheets supports this assumption.

factors may be dominant in specific areas. Major causes of deforestation in South Asia include (i) con) to identify rates, patterns, and causes of change in greater spatial and thematic details compared to regional,135 ha of mangroves were deforested and 80,461 ha were reforested with a net loss of 11,673 ha. In all

the operational quick image acquisition-downloading-processing and distribution of the PALSAR ScanSAR data monitoring. Â·JAXA continues the satellite program from 1990s using the L- band SAR: JERS-1 (1992~1998), ALOS to IBAMA for assisting the forestmonitoring. The time delay between the observation and the image

The eddy flux data with field records of tidal water inundation depths of the year 2010 from two mangrovesforests in southern China were analyzed to investigate the tidal effect on mangrove carbon cycle. We compared the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and its responses to light and temperature, respectively, between spring tide and neap tide inundation periods. For the most time of the year 2010, higher daytime NEE values were found during spring tides than during neap tides at both study sites. Regression analysis of daytime NEE to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) using the Landsberg model showed increased sensitivity of NEE to PAR with higher maximum photosynthetic rate during spring tides than neap tides. In contrast, the light compensation points acquired from the regression function of the Landsberg model were smaller during spring tides than neap tides in most months. The dependence of nighttime NEE on soil temperature was lower under spring tide than under neap tides. All these results above indicated that ecosystem carbon uptake rates of mangroveforests were strengthened, while ecosystem respirations were inhibited during spring tides in comparison with those during neap tides, which needs to be considered in modeling mangrove ecosystem carbon cycle under future sea level rise scenarios. PMID:25133267

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. "REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. In the framework of getting countries ready for REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme assists developing countries to prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies. For the monitoring, reporting and verification, FAO supports the countries to develop national satellite forestmonitoring systems that allow for credible measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of REDD+ activities. These are among the most critical elements for the successful implementation of any REDD+ mechanism. The UN-REDD Programme through a joint effort of FAO and Brazil's National Space Agency, INPE, is supporting countries to develop cost- effective, robust and compatible national monitoring and MRV systems, providing tools, methodologies, training and knowledge sharing that help countries to strengthen their technical and institutional capacity for effective MRV systems. To develop strong nationally-owned forestmonitoring systems, technical and institutional capacity building is key. The UN-REDD Programme, through FAO, has taken on intensive training together with INPE, and has provided technical help and assistance for in-country training and implementation for national satellite forestmonitoring. The goal of the support to UN-REDD pilot countries in this capacity building effort is the training of technical forest people and IT persons from interested REDD+ countries, and to set- up the national satellite forestmonitoring systems. The Brazilian forestmonitoring system, TerraAmazon, which is used as a basis for this initiative, allows countries to adapt it to country needs and the training on the TerraAmazon system is a tool to enhance existing capacity on carbon monitoring systems. The support with the National ForestMonitoring System will allow these countries to follow all actions related to the implementation of its national REDD+ policies and measures. The monitoring system will work as a platform to obtain information on their REDD+ results and actions, related directly or indirectly to national REDD+ strategies and may also include actions unrelated to carbon assessment, such as forest law enforcement. With the technical assistance of FAO, INPE and other stakeholders, the countries will set up an autonomous operational forestmonitoring system. An initial version and the methodologies of the system for DRC and PNG has been launched in Durban, South Africa during COP 17 and in 2012 Paraguay, Viet Nam and Zambia will be launched in Doha, Qatar at COP 18. The access to high-quality satellite data for these countries is crucial for the set-up.

Background Deforestation is one of the most ubiquitous forms of land degradation worldwide. Although remote sensing and aerial photographs can supply valuable information on land/use cover changes, they may not regularly be available for some tropical coasts (e.g., Cameroon estuary) where cloud cover is frequent. With respect to mangroves, researchers are now employing local knowledge as an alternative means of understanding forest disturbances. This paper was primarily aimed at assessing the mangroveforest products usage, along with the local people's perceptions on environmental changes, between Littoral (Cameroon estuary) and Southern (mouth of the Nyong River and Mpalla village) regions of Cameroon. Methods The data from both locations were obtained through conducting household interviews and field observations. Results In the Cameroon estuary (Littoral region), 69.23% of respondents (mostly elders) could distinguish two to four mangrove plants, whereas the informants (65.45%) in the mouth of the Nyong River and Mpalla village (mostly young people interviewed from the Southern region) are familiar with only one or two commonly found mangroves. Also, more respondents from the Cameroon estuary are depending on mangroves for fuelwood (Rhizophora spp.) and housing (Rhizophora spp., Avicennia germinans (L.) Stearn and Nypa fruticans (Thumb.) Wurmb.) purposes, in contrast to Nyong River mouth and Mpalla village. Although local people perceived wood extraction as a greater disruptive factor, there are several causes for mangrove depletion in the Cameroon estuary. Among others, over-harvesting, clear-felled corridors, sand extraction and housing were found important. Furthermore, a decline in mangrove fauna composition (in terms of fishery products) was recorded in the Littoral as well as Southern regions. However, the causes of such perceived negative changes were not similar in both cases. Conclusions Findings of this study highlight the need to improve sustainable management of the mangrove ecosystems through afforestation (in large impacted areas), selective removal of senescent tree stems and branches (in little damage stands), regulating sand extraction and housing activities, and creating awareness and law enforcement. PMID:22146073

In response to the diverse and growing public concerns about potential human impacts on our environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have initiated a cooperative national program of Forest Health Monitoring (FHM). The purposes of this report are: to describe the current approach and activities; to summarize the data that were collected in 1991, and; to outline some new directions that are being explored for possible implementation later. There are now 925 plots in the FHM national network, of which 628 plots are forested. This is about 16% (excluding Alaska) of the projected total number of forested plots that will be installed nationwide over the next several years. The installed plots are located systematically, using a probability sampling design, throughout the forests of 12 states in the eastern United States. Over 45,000 trees and seedlings of more than 100 species in 10 major forest types were measured by state and federal personnel.

Ucides cordatus is an abundant mangrove crab in Brazil constructing burrows of up to 2 m depth. Sediment around burrows may oxidize during low tides. This increase in sediment-air contact area may enhance carbon degradation processes. We hypothesized that 1) the sediment CO2 efflux rate is greater with burrows than without and 2) the reduction potential in radial profiles in the sediment surrounding the burrows decreases gradually, until approximating non-bioturbated conditions. Sampling was conducted during the North Brazilian wet season at neap tides. CO2 efflux rates of inhabited burrows and plain sediment were measured with a CO2/H2O gas analyzer connected to a respiration chamber. Sediment redox potential, pH and temperature were measured in the sediment surrounding the burrows at horizontal distances of 2, 5, 8 and 15 cm at four sediment depths (1, 10, 30 and 50 cm) and rH values were calculated. Sediment cores (50 cm length) were taken to measure the same parameters for plain sediment. CO2 efflux rates of plain sediment and individual crab burrows with entrance diameters of 7 cm were 0.7–1.3 µmol m?2 s?1 and 0.2–0.4 µmol burrows?1 s?1, respectively. CO2 released from a Rhizophora mangle dominated forest with an average of 1.7 U. cordatus burrows?1 m?2 yielded 1.0–1.7 µmol m?2 s?1, depending on the month and burrow entrance diameter. Laboratory experiments revealed that 20–60% of the CO2 released by burrows originated from crab respiration. Temporal changes in the reduction potential in the sediment surrounding the burrows did not influence the CO2 release from burrows. More oxidized conditions of plain sediment over time may explain the increase in CO2 release until the end of the wet season. CO2 released by U. cordatus and their burrows may be a significant pathway of CO2 export from mangrove sediments and should be considered in mangrove carbon budget estimates. PMID:25313661

Heavy metal concentrations in some macrobenthic fauna have been reported for the first time from the Sundarbans mangroveforest, south west coast of Bangladesh, in the northern part of Bay of Bengal. The concentration of Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in macrobenthos ranged from 235 ± 10.11 to 1,051 ± 38.42, 3.66 ± 0.89 to 7.55 ± 1.29, 76.8 ± 8.55 to 98.5 ± 6.49, 0.46 ± 0.11 to 0.859 ± 0.2 and 4.66 ± 1.17 to 6.77 ± 2.1 ?g/g, respectively. Significant variations (p???0.05) in heavy metal concentrations have been observed among the mud crab, mudskipper and gastropod. However, heavy metal burdens did not vary significantly among the hermit and horseshoe crabs. In mud crab, horseshoe crab and gastropod, heavy metal concentrations were recorded in the sequence: Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cd. Hermit crab and mudskipper contained heavy metals in the order of Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd. Fe and Zn concentrations were found significantly (p???0.05) higher in macrobenthos. The lead (Pb) concentration found in the edible portion of macrobenthos exceeded the international permissible limits certified by the WHO. Bioconcentration factors >1.00 obtained for Fe (17.05 in mudskipper) and Cd (1.87 in gastropod) indicated that these metals were highly bioaccumulated and biomagnified in benthic fauna of Sundarbans. The findings of this study refer to the potential impact of heavy metals in the mangrove ecosystem of Bangladesh. PMID:20711859

The primary goal of this research was to improve monitoring of temperate forest change using remote sensing. In this context, change includes both clearing of forest due to effects such as fire, logging, or land conversion and forest growth and succession. The Landsat 7 ETM+ proved an extremely valuable research tool in this domain. The Landsat 7 program has generated an extremely valuable transformation in the land remote sensing community by making high quality images available for relatively low cost. In addition, the tremendous improvements in the acquisition strategy greatly improved the overall availability of remote sensing images. I believe that from an historical prespective, the Landsat 7 mission will be considered extremely important as the improved image availability will stimulate the use of multitemporal imagery at resolutions useful for local to regional mapping. Also, Landsat 7 has opened the way to global applications of remote sensing at spatial scales where important surface processes and change can be directly monitored. It has been a wonderful experience to have participated on the Landsat 7 Science Team. The research conducted under this project led to contributions in four general domains: I. Improved understanding of the information content of images as a function of spatial resolution; II. MonitoringForest Change and Succession; III. Development and Integration of Advanced Analysis Methods; and IV. General support of the remote sensing of forests and environmental change. This report is organized according to these topics. This report does not attempt to provide the complete details of the research conducted with support from this grant. That level of detail is provided in the 16 peer reviewed journal articles, 7 book chapters and 5 conference proceedings papers published as part of this grant. This report attempts to explain how the various publications fit together to improve our understanding of how forests are changing and how to monitorforest change with remote sensing. There were no new inventions that resulted from this grant.

The small archipelago of Bermuda is a geologically young landmass in the Western Atlantic Ocean and recently turned out to be inhabited by a number of intertidal oribatid mites. One newly described species, Carinozetes bermudensis, showed an unusual vast range of habitats like sandy beaches, rocky substrate and mangroves. In the present study, 13 Bermudian populations of C. bermudensis were analysed to verify species integrity of specimens from different microhabitats. A morphometric analysis of 17 continuous variables as well as a molecular genetic investigation of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I revealed the existence of a new species Carinozetes mangrovi sp. nov., inhabiting exclusively intertidal algae growing on mangrove roots. Although both species are morphologically nearly identical, the configuration of the genus-specific ventral carinae represents a clear diagnostic character. The high genetic divergence of approximately 12 % of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene sequence between C. bermudensis and C. mangrovi sp. nov. suggests that these two species diverged before the emergence of the Bermuda islands. Accordingly, both of them are older than the geologically young archipelago of Bermuda. PMID:24687175

Forests, which cover approximately one-third of the United States, are an important part of the U.S. economy, culture, and ecology. n response to legislative mandate and for our environment, several government agencies have been working together to develop a program to monitor th...

Florida Plants Online provides this resource on mangroves, featuring brief annotations and links to dozens of mangrove-related pages. Although the pages described at Florida Plants Online vary in depth and quality, many are worthwhile.

Finland has been participating in the ICP Forests programme (the International Co-operative Programme on the Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests) based on international agreements on the long- range transportation of air pollutants (LRTAP) and other associated monitoring programmes (e.g. Forest Focus, ICP Integrated Monitoring, ICP Vegetation) since 1985. The knowledge gained during the years has greatly

Physiological processes and local-scale structural dynamics of mangroves are relatively well studied. Regional-scale processes, however, are not as well understood. Here we provide long-term data on trends in structure and forest turnover at a large scale, following hurricane damage in mangrove ecosystems of South Florida, U.S.A. Twelve mangrove vegetation plots were monitored at periodic intervals, between October 1992 and March 2005. Mangroveforests of this region are defined by a -1.5 scaling relationship between mean stem diameter and stem density, mirroring self-thinning theory for mono-specific stands. This relationship is reflected in tree size frequency scaling exponents which, through time, have exhibited trends toward a community average that is indicative of full spatial resource utilization. These trends, together with an asymptotic standing biomass accumulation, indicate that coastal mangrove ecosystems do adhere to size-structured organizing principles as described for upland tree communities. Regenerative dynamics are different between areas inside and outside of the primary wind-path of Hurricane Andrew which occurred in 1992. Forest dynamic turnover rates, however, are steady through time. This suggests that ecological, more-so than structural factors, control forest productivity. In agreement, the relative mean rate of biomass growth exhibits an inverse relationship with the seasonal range of porewater salinities. The ecosystem average in forest scaling relationships may provide a useful investigative tool of mangrove community biomass relationships, as well as offer a robust indicator of general ecosystem health for use in mangroveforest ecosystem management and restoration. ?? Springer 2006.

The damage to mangroveforests on the west coast of Everglades National Park from Hurricane Wilma in 2005 rivaled that of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. We describe patterns and rates of recovery following Andrew and use these estimates to gage recovery based upon site reconnaissance and forest structural damage considerations in the aftermath of Wilma.

calculated and compared between stressed and non- stressed tree leaves using ANOVA. Results indicate a good research on mangroveforest dynamics, the rate of mainland mangrove deforestation is estimated to be 1

We examined the relationship between distribution of actinomycetes and antagonistic behaviour with the physico-chemical characteristics of the Sundarbans, off the Bay of Bengal, India. Soil/sediment samples were collected from three regions: near to the sea, intertidal regions and mangroveforests. For the enumeration of actinomycetes, four treatments combining dilution with distilled or sea water with or without heating followed by plating onto starch-casein, glycerol-arginine and starch-nitrate media were done. Dilution with seawater, heating and plating onto starch-casein yielded maximum number of actinomycetes. The highest number of actinomycetes was isolated from an intertidal region having alluvial soil and the lowest from a site containing sandy sediments. Antimicrobial activity was dependent upon seawater. Antimicrobial score of an actinomycetes strain was calculated allotting maximum points to the isolate showing activity against all the test bacteria, next lower point to the isolate showing activity against one less the total and so on. The antagonistic potential (AP) of a sampling site was the ratio of total antimicrobial score of the isolates and their number. The high AP sites were influenced by tides, while the low AP sites were not. Pearson's correlation between soil chemical parameters and microbiological parameters revealed soil nitrogen as the key factor determining the antagonistic activity. PMID:18679673

When ecosystems are threatened or scientific knowledge of the effects of human action is uncertain, legislative prohibition is often adopted. This paper examines how the criminalization of mangrove tree use affects ecosystem management outcomes. We explore the biological, economic and social sustainability effects of the legal ban on mangrove use on the coast of Bragança, Pará, north Brazil. There are

Mangroveforest is a special wetland forest growing in the inter-tidal zone of tropical and subtropical regions, playing important roles in windbreak, promoting silt sedimentation, resisting extreme events such as cyclones and tsunamis, and protecting coastline, etc. The total area of global mangroveforests is about 152000 km2, only accounting for 0. 4% of all forest area. There are about 230 km2 mangroveforests in China. The mangroveforests in the tropics have an average carbon storage as high as 1023 Mg hm-2, and the global mangroveforests can sequestrate about 0. 18-0. 228 Pg C a-1. In addition to plant species composition, a variety of factors such as air temperature, seawater temperature and salinity, soil physical and chemical properties, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and human activities have significant effects on the carbon storage and sink ability of mangroveforests. Many approaches based onfield measurements, including allometric equations, remote sensing, and model simulation, are applied to quantify the carbon storage and sink ability of mangroveforest wetland. To study the carbon storage and sink ability of mangrove wetland can promote the further understanding of the carbon cycle of mangrove wetland and related controlling mechanisms, being of significance for the protection and rational utilization of mangrove wetland. PMID:23898678

Coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, pose a challenge for chlorophyll (CHL) and nitrogen (N) estimation using Hyperspectral. Mangroves have unique characteristics such as high humidity, wet soils (mud), water logged, and roots on the mangrove floors that provide strong influence to mangrove canopy spectra. This study aims to find optimum Hyperspectral indices for the estimation of CHL and N concentrations at canopy level using HYMAP data of mangroveforests. The common vegetation indices such as SR, NDVI, PVI, TSAVI, and OVI were applied on original spectra as well as first derivative spectra (using the Savitsky and Golay method). The first method was calculating the best indices to estimate CHL using radiative transfer model, SLC (soil-leaf-canopy). The results were tested to HYMAP data. The second method was calculating the best indices to estimate CHL and N from the HYMAP data which then tested to SLC. The first method provides disagreement between indices determined using SLC and applied to HYMAP data. The second method provides good agreement between indices determined using HYMAP data and applied to SLC. The best indices: for CHL estimation dSR=d?544/d?1736, for N estimation PVI = ?514 - 0.9*?676 - 0.1/1.3454. Information on CHL and N concentrations of mangroves are important to monitor nutrient enrichment of coastal zone and their effects to mangrove ecosystem.

The mangroveforest of Bangladesh, the largest continuous mangrove bulk, is one of the most important features of the coastal area of the country. The existence of the mangrove has increased the values of other coastal and marine resources such as the coastal and marine fisheries by increasing productivity and supporting a wide biological diversity. The deltaic mangrove of Bangladesh

Mangrove crabs as key ecosystem engineers may play an important role in the recovery process of storm-damaged forests. Yet, their response to storm disturbance is largely unknown. Here we compare the ground-dwelling brachyuran crab community of intact mangrove stands with that of typhoon gaps having experienced 100% tree mortality. Field work was conducted in two adjacent areas in Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, southern Vietnam. In each area, an 18-20 yr old monoculture Rhizophora apiculata stand served as control and was compared with typhoon gaps where downed stems had been removed or left on-site. The gaps were 14 and 20 months old when studied in the dry and rainy season 2008, respectively. Time-based sampling of ground-dwelling crabs with hand or shovel was conducted by 4 persons inside 100 m2 plots for 30 min (7 replicate plots per area, treatment and month). Abiotic (sediment pH, salinity, temperature, grain size, water content, carbon and nitrogen content), and biotic measures (e.g. canopy coverage, woody debris, number of trees, leaf litter) were also taken. Despite complete canopy loss, total crab abundance has not changed significantly (in contrast to biomass) and all 12 species found in the forest were also found in the gaps, demonstrating their robustness. Another 9 gap-exclusive species were recorded and average species number and Shannon diversity were thus higher in the gaps. Perisesarma eumolpe was the most abundant species, both in the forest and in the gaps, and a shift from sesarmids (typical forest species) to ocypodids (generally more prominent in open areas) has not occurred. The persistence of litter-feeding sesarmid crabs prior to the re-establishment of a mangrove canopy is likely to depend on the availability of woody debris on the ground of the gaps, fuelling a mangrove detritus based food web, rather than one based on microphytobenthos and deposit-feeding ocypodids. The presence of burrowing crabs in the gaps suggests that important ecosystem engineering activities are still performed. However, bioturbation may be reduced as crab biomass and body size were smaller in the gaps. Follow-up assessments and field experiments are needed to understand the crabs' role in processing the woody debris, their long-term community dynamics and possible feed-backs between species shifts and gap regeneration.

Soil elevation affects tidal inundation period, inundation frequency, and overall hydroperiod, all of which are important ecological factors affecting species recruitment, composition, and survival in wetlands. Hurricanes can dramatically affect a site's soil elevation. We assessed the impact of Hurricane Wilma (2005) on soil elevation at a mangroveforest location along the Shark River in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Using multiple depth surface elevation tables (SETs) and marker horizons we measured soil accretion, erosion, and soil elevation. We partitioned the effect of Hurricane Wilma's storm deposit into four constituent soil zones: surface (accretion) zone, shallow zone (0–0.35 m), middle zone (0.35–4 m), and deep zone (4–6 m). We report expansion and contraction of each soil zone. Hurricane Wilma deposited 37.0 (± 3.0 SE) mm of material; however, the absolute soil elevation change was + 42.8 mm due to expansion in the shallow soil zone. One year post-hurricane, the soil profile had lost 10.0 mm in soil elevation, with 8.5 mm of the loss due to erosion. The remaining soil elevation loss was due to compaction from shallow subsidence. We found prolific growth of new fine rootlets (209 ± 34 SE g m?2) in the storm deposited material suggesting that deposits may become more stable in the near future (i.e., erosion rate will decrease). Surficial erosion and belowground processes both played an important role in determining the overall soil elevation. Expansion and contraction in the shallow soil zone may be due to hydrology, and in the middle and bottom soil zones due to shallow subsidence. Findings thus far indicate that soil elevation has made substantial gains compared to site specific relative sea-level rise, but data trends suggest that belowground processes, which differ by soil zone, may come to dominate the long term ecological impact of storm deposit.

A Gram-negative, rod shaped, motile, aerobic bacterium, designated as strain AK49(T) was isolated from a water sample from a mangroveforest in Coringa village, Andhra Pradesh, India. Strain AK49(T) was observed to form yellow coloured, smooth, circular, convex colonies on marine agar, with entire margins. Cells of strain AK49(T) are 0.5-1.0 µm wide and 1.5-3.5 µm long. Growth was observed at 25-37 °C (optimum 30 °C), 2-6 % NaCl (optimum 2 %) and pH 6-8 (optimum 7). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain AK49(T) is closely related to two species recently reclassified as members of the genus Aliiglaciecola: Aliiglaciecola lipolytica JCM 15139(T) (sequence similarity 95.43 %) and Aliiglaciecola litoralis JCM 15896(T) (sequence similarity 96.91 %). The major cellular fatty acids of strain AK49(T) were found to include C16:0, C18:1?7c and summed feature 3 (C16:1?7c/C15:0 iso-2-OH). The polar lipid content of cell membrane was found to include phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified aminolipid, an unidentified lipid and an unidentified glycolipid. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain AK49(T) was determined to be 41.9 mol%. Based on the taxonomic methods, including chemotaxonomic, phenotypic and phylogenetic approaches, strain AK49(T) is described here as a novel species belonging to the genus Aliiglaciecola, for which the name Aliiglaciecola coringensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Aliiglaciecola coringensis sp. nov. is AK49(T) (=MTCC 12003(T )= JCM19197(T)). PMID:25216983

Strain MUSC 115(T) was isolated from mangrove soil of the Tanjung Lumpur river in the state of Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Cells of this strain stained Gram-positive and were non-spore-forming, short rods that formed yellowish-white colonies on different agar media. The taxonomy of strain MUSC 115(T) was studied by a polyphasic approach, and the organism showed a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the genus Microbacterium. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was of type B2?, containing the amino acids ornithine, alanine, glycine, glutamic acid and homoserine. The muramic acid was of the N-glycolyl form. The predominant menaquinones detected were MK-12, MK-13 and MK-11. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphoglycolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified lipids, three unidentified phospholipids and four unidentified glycolipids. The major fatty acids of the cell membrane were anteiso-C15?:?0 and anteiso-C17?:?0. The whole-cell sugars detected were ribose, glucose, mannose and galactose. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, strain MUSC 115(T) showed the highest sequence similarity to Microbacterium immunditiarum SK 18(T) (98.1?%), M. ulmi XIL02(T) (97.8?%) and M. arborescens DSM 20754(T) (97.5?%) and lower sequence similarity to strains of other species of the genus Microbacterium. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed a low level of DNA-DNA relatedness (less than 24?%) between strain MUSC 115(T) and the type strains of closely related species. Furthermore, BOX-PCR fingerprint comparison also indicated that strain MUSC 115(T) represented a unique DNA profile. The DNA G+C content determined was 70.9±0.7 mol%, which is lower than that of M. immunditiarum SK 18(T). Based on the combination of genotypic and phenotypic data, it is proposed that strain MUSC 115(T) represents a novel species of the genus Microbacterium, for which the name Microbacterium mangrovi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 115(T) (?=?MCCC 1K00251(T)?=?DSM 28240(T)?=?NBRC 110089(T)). PMID:25056298

Approximately 60% of the southern Thai coastline used to be occupied by mangroves according to the first mangroveforest assessment in 1961. During the past three decades, these mangrove areas have been reduced to about 50% with less than 10% left on the east coast. Coastal erosion and accretion occur irregularly along the coast but an intensification of erosion has

This study investigates how herbivory by larval insects on fruit of the mangrove Avicennia marina affects the subsequent establishment, growth, and survivorship of its seedlings. Research was done in a temperate mangroveforest in Australia where the larvae of two species of insects were the dominant frugivores: the mangrove fruit fly Euphranta marina and the mangrove plume moth Cenoloba obliteralis.

Mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus) is one of the few species of fish that is semi-terrestrial and able to use exposed intertidal and potentially supratidal habitats for prolonged periods of time. Based on previous work demonstrating frequent use of subterranean crab burrows as well as damp leaf litter and logs, we examined the microhabitat associations of rivulus in a mosquito-ditched mangroveforest on the Gulf coast of Florida near the northern limit of its distribution. We captured 161 rivulus on 20 dates between late April and mid-December 2007 using trench traps. Fish ranged in size from 7 to 35 mm SL. Peak abundance in mid-summer coincided with recruitment of a new year-class. The three study sites occurred within 0.5 km of one another, and experienced similar water temperatures and salinities. Nevertheless, they differed in their degree of tidal inundation, standing stock of leaf litter, and density of entrances to fiddler crab burrows. We consistently observed the highest mean catches of rivulus away from permanent subtidal waters of mosquito ditches, at intermediate relative elevations, and where leaf litter was locally abundant. Density of entrances to crab burrows was apparently unrelated to rivulus distribution or abundance in these forests.

Effects of flooding on water transport in mangroves have previously been investigated in a few studies, most of which were conducted on seedlings in controlled settings. In this study, we used heat-dissipation sap probes to determine if sap flow (J(s)) attenuates with radial depth into the xylem of mature trees of three south Florida mangrove species growing in Rookery Bay. This was accomplished by inserting sap probes at multiple depths and monitoring diurnal flow. For most species and diameter size class combinations tested, J(s) decreased dramatically beyond a radial depth of 2 or 4 cm, with little sap flow beyond a depth of 6 cm. Mean J(s) was reduced on average by 20% in Avicennia germinans (L.) Stearn, Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn. f. and Rhizophora mangle L. trees when soils were flooded. Species differences were highly significant, with L. racemosa having the greatest midday J(s) of about 26 g H(2)O m(-2) s(-1) at a radial depth of 2 cm compared with a mean for the other two species of about 15 g H(2)O m(-2) s(-1). Sap flow at a depth of 2 cm in mangroves was commensurate with rates reported for other forested wetland tree species. We conclude that: (1) early spring flooding of basin mangroveforests causes reductions in sap flow in mature mangrove trees; (2) the sharp attenuations in J(s) along the radial profile have implications for understanding whole-tree water use strategies by mangroveforests; and (3) regardless of flood state, individual mangrove tree water use follows leaf-level mechanisms in being conservative. PMID:17267368

Forests provide significant commodity and noncommodity values to the citizens of the United States. An important and substantial role in ensuring the continued health, productivity, and sustainability of these resources is a reliable and credible inventory and monitoring program. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the US Forest Service has been monitoring and reporting on status, condition, and trends in the nation's forests for over 70 years and the Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) program for the last 11 years. Recent legislation included in the 1998 Farm Bill, along with efforts to integrate inventory and monitoring networks to deliver Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forests, are redefining the role and operation of the recently integrated FIA and FHM programs. This paper provides a brief history and a look at new directions for the enhanced FIA Program. PMID:11833910

Forests are an influential component of the global carbon cycle and strongly influence Earth's climate. Climate change is altering the dynamics of forests globally, which may result in significant climate feedbacks. Forest responses to climate change entail both short-term ecophysiological responses and longer-term directional shifts in community composition. These short- and long-term responses of forest communities to climate change may be better understood through long-term monitoring of large forest plots globally using standardized methodology. Here, we describe a global network of forest research plots (CTFS/ForestGEO) of utility for understanding forest responses to climate change and consequent feedbacks to the climate system. CTFS/ForestGEO is an international network consisting of 51 sites ranging in size from 2-150 ha (median size: 25 ha) and spanning from 25°S to 52°N latitude. At each site, every individual > 1cm DBH is mapped and identified, and recruitment, growth, and mortality are monitored every 5 years. Additional measurements include aboveground productivity, carbon stocks, soil nutrients, plant functional traits, arthropod and vertebrates monitoring, DNA barcoding, airborne and ground-based LiDAR, micrometeorology, and weather monitoring. Data from this network are useful for understanding how forest ecosystem structure and function respond to spatial and temporal variation in abiotic drivers, parameterizing and evaluating ecosystem and earth system models, aligning airborne and ground-based measurements, and identifying directional changes in forest productivity and composition. For instance, CTFS/ForestGEO data have revealed that solar radiation and night-time temperature are important drivers of aboveground productivity in moist tropical forests; that tropical forests are mixed in terms of productivity and biomass trends over the past couple decades; and that the composition of Panamanian forests has shifted towards more drought-tolerant species. Ongoing monitoring will be vital to understanding global forest dynamics in an era of climate change.

Mangroves are unique ecosystem structures that are typically made up of salt tolerant species of vegetation that can be found in tropical and subtropical climate country. Mangrove ecosystem plays important role and also is known as highly productive ecosystem with high diversity of flora and fauna. However, these ecosystems have been declining over time due to the various kinds of direct and indirect pressures. Thus, there is an increasing need to monitor and assess this ecosystem for better conservation and management efforts. The multispectral RapidEye satellite image was used to identify the mangrove vegetation species within the Matang MangroveForest Reserve in Perak, Malaysia using texture analysis. Classification was implemented using the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) method. Total of eleven main mangrove species were found in the satellite image of the study site which includes Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera parviflora, Bruguiera cylindrica, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Avicennia alba, Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia alba, Sonneratia caseolaris, Sonneratia ovata and Xylocarpus granatum. The classification results showed that the textured image produced high overall classification assessment recorded at 84% and kappa statistic of 0.8016. Meanwhile, the non-textured image produces 80% of overall accuracy and kappa statistic of 0.7061. The classification result indicated the capability of high resolution satellite image to classify the mangrove species and inclusion of texture information in the classification increased the classification accuracy.

The USDA Forest Service’s Asheville, North Carolina-based Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and Prineville, Oregon-based Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center partnered with Stennis Space Center and other agencies to create an early warning system to identify, characterize, and track disturbances from potential forest threats. The result was ForWarn, which is now being used by federal and state forest and natural resource managers.

Storm protection is an important regulating service provided by mangroveforests because they can shield inland property and lives during tropical cyclones. Theoretical as well as empirical research shows that mangroves provide protection from storm surge. But whether mangroves protect inland static property during storms is less explored. This paper estimates the storm protection benefits due to mangroves during the

Costa Rica has mangroveforests on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The Pacific side has 99% of the mangrove area of the country. In this review we compile available information on the mangroves of the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica, from Bahía Salinas, on the border with Nicaragua, to the tip of the Peninsula de Nicoya at Cabo Blanco. We provide information on the location of the mangroves and all available information for each mangroveforest. These mangrove communities are smaller in extension and tree sizes, and have lower diversity compared to the mangroves on the southern section of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The dominant species are Rhizophora mangle and Rhizophora racemosa along the canal edges, backed by Avicennia germinans, and farther inland Avicennia bicolor, Laguncularia racemosa and Conocarpus erectus. At Potrero Grande a healthy population of Pelliciera rhizophorae, a rare species, has been reported. We recognized 38 mangrove communities in this part of the country, based on the National Wetland Inventory, published papers, field observations, theses, technical reports, and the national topographic maps (1:50,000, Instituto Geográfico Nacional). Relatively detailed information could be found for only five mangroveforests, for 14 more only prelimary and incomplete lists of plants and in some cases of animal species are available, for nine there is even less information, and for nine more only their location is known, which in some cases was not correct. Detail mapping, characterization of the vegetation and fauna, physiological studies, analyses of biogeochemical and physical processes, economic valuations, and determination of the health status of the mangrove of the northern Pacific coast, as well as for the rest of Costa Rica, are neccesary and urgent. PMID:19928448

This publication reports the findings of the 1990 (first) Northeastern Forest Health Monitoring field season. he objectives were to establish baseline conditions for assessing attributes of forest health. ield visits were made to 263 sample plots across the 6 New England states, ...

Forest biomass is an important factor in the flux of atmospheric CO2 and its potential impact on global climatic change. In this study a mathematical evaluation of the potential of microwave radiometers for monitoringforest biomass is carried out. For this purpose, a microwave emission model is developed using the iterative solution of the radiative transfer equation to relate the

This study evaluates uncertainty factors in using multitemporal Landsat images for subtle change detection, including atmosphere, topography, phenology, sun and view angles. The study is based on monitoringforest succession with a set of multiple Landsat TM\\/ETM+ images spanning 15 years over the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Western Cascades of Oregon. The algorithms for removing atmospheric effects

The tidally-dominated Shark River is a major drainage of south Florida. The river passes through and nourishes North America's largest mangroveforest. Strong tidal flows in the river extend more than 12 km upstream from the river's mouth at the Gulf of Mexico. In November 2010, a deliberate release of SF6 tracer into the river was followed for several days to study the river's transport characteristics. During the tracer release and monitoring, tides led to a stage variation of about 0.8 m close to the Gulf and about 0.3 m in the river upstream of the tracer release point. The mangroveforest adjacent to the river is flooded at high tide and consists of mangrove roots and pneumatophores above highly porous peat root mass. Tracer movement and its analysis by conventional methods are complicated by these tidal flows and potentially by interaction with the mangrove zone groundwater. A 30-m resolution 2-dimensional Lattice Boltzmann model was constructed for a 30 x 21 km region of this part of southwestern Florida. Tidal stage boundaries were applied to the east and west edges of the domain. Based on aerial photography and a thresholding process, the domain was separated into open channels representing the complex river network and a porous medium representing the mangroveforest. SF6 concentrations were not monitored in these flood waters or groundwater during this experiment. The objective is to match the simulations to the SF6 observations in order to better understand chemical transport in this environment and to permit simulation of the transport of other species. Numerous conceptual and computational challenges have to be surmounted to apply Lattice Boltzmann methods to this problem.

The mangroveforest of Bangladesh, the largest continuous mangrove bulk, is one of the most important features of the coastal\\u000a area of the country. The existence of the mangrove has increased the values of other coastal and marine resources such as\\u000a the coastal and marine fisheries by increasing productivity and supporting a wide biological diversity. The deltaic mangrove\\u000a of Bangladesh

The mangroves from Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to Kranji Dam represent the largest intact mangroveforest left on mainland Singapore. Mangroves colonized the area around 6820 BP, as sea level rose following the last glacial maximum and a variable thickness of Holocene sands, muds and peats (generally ~1 to >3.8 m thick) were deposited over the pre-transgression land surface.An analysis

The study of five mangroveforests was undertaken during the summer of1998 on the north coast of Haiti. Photo-interpretation detected areachanges between 1978 and 1989; the areas were reduced by an averageof 43% each. Two of the sites, Salée River mangrove andHaut-du-Cap River mangrove, were characterized by means of a vegetationsurvey and water and soil analysis. Tree density averaged 58,750

In preparation for the first European Earth Remote Sensing (ERS-1) mission, a series of multitemporal, multifrequency, multipolarization aircraft synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data sets were acquired over the Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest near Fairbanks, Alaska in March 1988. Significant change in radar backscatter was observed over the two-week experimental period due to changing environmental conditions. These preliminary results are presented to illustrate the opportunity afforded by the ERS-1 SAR to monitor temporal change in forest ecosystems.

This study evaluates uncertainty factors in using multitemporal Landsat images for subtle change detection, including atmosphere, topography, phenology, and sun and view angles. The study is based on monitoringforest succession with a set of multiple Landsat Thematic Mapper\\/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (TM\\/ETM+) images spanning 15 years over the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Western Cascades of Oregon. The

Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangroveforests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquaculture and logged for timber and fuel production. Little is

Clarification of the role of mangrove root structures as shelter from predators for benthic animals was investigated by considering (1) the impact of predation on benthic faunal communities in a mangroveforest as indicated by a predator exclusion experiment, and (2) the uses and effects of mangrove root structures by benthic animals under laboratory conditions. In the exclusion experiment, three

Mangroveforests are one of the world's most threatened tropical ecosystems with global loss exceeding 35% (ref. 1). Juvenile coral reef fish often inhabit mangroves, but the importance of these nurseries to reef fish population dynamics has not been quantified. Indeed, mangroves might be expected to have negligible influence on reef fish communities: juvenile fish can inhabit alternative habitats and

Mangrove-derived tannins negatively effected laboratory-reared nematode populations and natural communities of meiobenthos in tropical mangroveforests along the northeastern coast of Australia. In the low and mid intertidal zones of five mangrove estuaries, nearly all of the dominant meiofaunal taxa correlated negatively with concentrations of sediment tannins. Only nematodes correlated with low tannin concentrations in the high intertidal zones. The

Mangroveforests are highly productive but globally threatened coastal ecosystems, whose role in the carbon budget of the coastal zone has long been debated. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available data on carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems. A reassessment of global mangrove primary production from the literature results in a conservative estimate of ?218 ± 72 Tg

In Vietnam mangrove rehabilitation has a long history and gained momentum after the war that destroyed huge forested areas, especially in the Mekong Delta. In addition, in various places mangrove have been and still are being planted specifically as a way to protect shorelines and sea-dykes from wave attack. The success of such projects highly depends on using the ecological

BACKGROUND: Sundarbans is the largest chunk of mangroveforest and only tiger mangrove land in the world. Compared to the rich species diversity and uniqueness, very few studies have so far been conducted here, mainly due to its inaccessibility. This study explores water quality, density of biomass, species diversity, phytoplankton abundance and bacterial population of a tidal creek in Sunderban

The USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and the Forest Health Monitor- ing (FHM) program maintain networks of sample locations providing coarse-scale information that characterize general indicators of forest health. Tree mortality is the primary FIA variable for analyzing forest health. Recent FIA inventories of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia reveal that the current rate of

The paper presents the first document to identify the enrichment pattern of acid leachable trace metals (ALTMs) such as Fe,\\u000a Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Co, Mo, Ag, As and Ba and their relationship with sediment quality parameters (pH, organic carbon,\\u000a carbonates and texture) in core sediments (<63 ?m particle size) from Indian Sunderban mangrove wetland, formed at the estuarine

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangroveforest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to -50 cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO2 from the surface up to the upper canopy layer. Significant increases in latent heat fluxes (LE) and nighttime net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were also observed and sensible heat fluxes (H) as a proportion of net radiation decreased significantly in response to the disturbance. Many of these impacts persisted through much of the study period through 2009. However, local albedo and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) data (the Enhanced Vegetation Index) indicated a substantial proportion of active leaf area recovered before the EC measurements began 1 year after the storm. Observed changes in the vertical distribution and the degree of clumping in newly emerged leaves may have affected the energy balance. Direct comparisons of daytime NEE values from before the storm and after our measurements resumed did not show substantial or consistent differences that could be attributed to the disturbance. Regression analyses on seasonal time scales were required to differentiate the storm's impact on monthly average daytime NEE from the changes caused by interannual variability in other environmental drivers. The effects of the storm were apparent on annual time scales, and CO2 uptake remained approximately 250 g C m-2 yr-1 lower in 2009 compared to the average annual values measured in 2004–2005. Dry season CO2 uptake was relatively more affected by the disturbance than wet season values. Complex leaf regeneration dynamics on damaged trees during ecosystem recovery are hypothesized to lead to the variable dry versus wet season impacts on daytime NEE. In contrast, nighttime CO2 release (i.e., nighttime respiration) was consistently and significantly greater, possibly as a result of the enhanced decomposition of litter and coarse woody debris generated by the storm, and this effect was most apparent in the wet seasons compared to the dry seasons. The largest pre- and post-storm differences in NEE coincided roughly with the delayed peak in cumulative mortality of stems in 2007–2008. Across the hurricane-impacted region, cumulative tree mortality rates were also closely correlated with declines in peat surface elevation. Mangroveforest–atmosphere interactions are interpreted with respect to the damage and recovery of stand dynamics and soil accretion processes following the hurricane.

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO 2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangroveforest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to -50cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO 2 from the surface up to the upper canopy layer. Significant increases in latent heat fluxes (LE) and nighttime net ecosystem exchange (NEE) were also observed and sensible heat fluxes (H) as a proportion of net radiation decreased significantly in response to the disturbance. Many of these impacts persisted through much of the study period through 2009. However, local albedo and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) data (the Enhanced Vegetation Index) indicated a substantial proportion of active leaf area recovered before the EC measurements began 1year after the storm. Observed changes in the vertical distribution and the degree of clumping in newly emerged leaves may have affected the energy balance. Direct comparisons of daytime NEE values from before the storm and after our measurements resumed did not show substantial or consistent differences that could be attributed to the disturbance. Regression analyses on seasonal time scales were required to differentiate the storm's impact on monthly average daytime NEE from the changes caused by interannual variability in other environmental drivers. The effects of the storm were apparent on annual time scales, and CO 2 uptake remained approximately 250gCm -2yr -1 lower in 2009 compared to the average annual values measured in 2004-2005. Dry season CO 2 uptake was relatively more affected by the disturbance than wet season values. Complex leaf regeneration dynamics on damaged trees during ecosystem recovery are hypothesized to lead to the variable dry versus wet season impacts on daytime NEE. In contrast, nighttime CO 2 release (i.e., nighttime respiration) was consistently and significantly greater, possibly as a result of the enhanced decomposition of litter and coarse woody debris generated by the storm, and this effect was most apparent in the wet seasons compared to the dry seasons. The largest pre- and post-storm differences in NEE coincided roughly with the delayed peak in cumulative mortality of stems in 2007-2008. Across the hurricane-impacted region, cumulative tree mortality rates were also closely correlated with declines in peat surface elevation. Mangroveforest-atmosphere interactions are interpreted with respect to the damage and recovery of stand dynamics and soil accretion processes following the hurricane. ?? 2011.

Today we don't have full and reliable information about forests in Russia, so it is impossible to make any well-timed decision for forest management. Update of all this information by means of traditional methods (fieldwork) is a time-consuming and in fact impossible task. Also we do not think that using of the reports without objective information for cameral data actualization is an appropriate method in such situation. So our company uses remote sensing data and technologies to resolve this problem. Nowadays numerous satellites record numerous images every day. Remote sensing data are widespread and accessible, so we can use them as the source of actual and reliable information about current status of the Forest Fund. Furthermore regular monitoring allows extracting the information about the location and intensity of forests' changes like degradation and destruction. First of all we create a georeferenced data set to cover the area of interest with orthomosaic in targeting scale depending on the goals of the project (1:25 000 - 1:10 000). For example, we can do a mosaic from RapidEye (Germany) imagery with GSD = 6.5 m or from WorldView-2 (USA) imagery with GSD = 0.5 m. The next step is to create vector layers to describe the content of images. We use visual and contemporary automatic interpretation techniques. The benefit of such approach that we can extract not only information about forests (like boundary) but also the information about roads, hydrographic objects, power lines and so on. During vectorization except relevant orthomosaic we can use multi-temporal composites of images based on archive of satellite imagery. This helps us not only to detect general changes but detect illegal logging, areas affected by fires, windfalls. Then this information can be used for different products e.g. forest cover statistics, forest cover change statistics, maps of forest management and also we can analyze transport accessibility and economic assessment of forests.

Macrobenthic assemblages are relatively poorly known compared to other components of the mangrove ecosystem. Tropical mangroves support macrobenthic biodiversity resources yet to be properly documented and interpreted. Some methodological challenges, such as the generally high spatial heterogeneity and complexity of the habitat, evidently reduce sampling efficiency and accuracy, while also leaving some microhabitats under-sampled. Macrobenthic assemblage structure seems to be influenced by local environmental conditions, such as hydroperiod, organic matter availability and sediment characteristics. Brachyurans, gastropods and oligochaetes dominate in the sediment, with the former two groups also common on hard surfaces provided by tree trunks, while insects and arachnids inhabit the canopy. Traditionally, studies of mangrove macrobenthos have focused on assemblage structure or the biology of individual species, but more complex inter-specific interactions and the inter-relationship between habitat and the biota are recently being addressed. Brachyuran crabs are the best-studied macrobenthos group, but many issues about their role in mangrove ecosystem dynamics are still controversial. Despite many species of mangrove macrobenthos being referred to as 'trophic dead ends', most serve as important links between recalcitrant mangrove organic matter and estuarine secondary production, through feeding excursion by mobile nekton during the high tide, and macrobenthos-mediated processing and exportation of organic matter. A significant difference in the standing crop biomass of forests between the Indo-west-Pacific (IWP)' and Atlantic-east-Pacific (AEP) mangroves may be related to the difference in species richness of mangrove as well as macrobenthos diversity in the two bioregions. Such differences in assemblage structure may also result in different ecosystem functioning, but the nature of the links is, however, yet to be explored. There is also a strong need for evaluating mangrove macrobenthos assemblages as a component of the connected biotic resources in the land-sea continuum, rather than as an isolated faunal group.

The temperate forest is a complex biome due to the diversity of forest types, forest cover change dynamics and forest use management practices. While temperate forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, their net carbon exchange is uncertain. Quantifying forest cover change is an important step in documenting disturbance regimes and carbon exchange estimates. Biome-wide gross forest cover loss was estimated using a probability-based sampling approach that integrated moderate and high spatial resolution satellite data sets. Area of gross forest cover loss from 2000 to 2005 within the temperate forest biome is estimated to be 1.03% of the total biome area, or 18.41 Mha. Estimated forest cover loss represented a 3.5% reduction in year 2000 forest area. About 68% of the total forest cover loss occurred in Eastern North America and in Europe. The mid-latitude forests of the United States exhibited the highest forest cover loss rates within the biome. Biome-wide rate of gross forest cover loss gradually increased from 2001 to 2005. The lowest change was detected in 2004, followed by the year of the highest change over the 5-year period. The regional forest cover change dynamics were confirmed by official forest fire and timber production statistics. The validation of the MODIS-based product demonstrated its efficiency in forest cover mapping and monitoring. Forest cover change monitoring using the approach presented should bring greater understanding on forest cover dynamics in temperate forests and enable improved carbon accounting.

Although typhoon is a natural disturbance for mangroveforests, research of typhoon impact on net carbon ecosystem exchange (NEE) of mangrove wetlands has not reached final conclusion. In this study we investigated possible effects of typhoons with different forces on the NEE of a subtropical mangroveforest in Fujian, China (117°23'E, 23°55'N). In 2010, Typhoon Lionrock, Fanapi and Megi made landfall with a speed of 23, 35 and 38 m s-1 near our mangrove field station in Zhangjiang Estuary National Mangrove Nature Reserve on September 2, September 20 and October 23, respectively. In October 2009, total of 16 litter traps and an eddy covariance system were instated at this field station. Litter production was monitored at the biweekly intervals while the NEE was measured continuously. The litter production and NEE values were compared before and after each typhoon landed. Strong winds and torrential rains from these typhoons caused the amount of litter production more than double over the same period a year before when there was no typhoon landing. Moreover, about 5~25% green leaves and twigs were found in the litter traps after the typhoons, indicating significant defoliation by the typhoons. Typhoon Lionrock and Fanapi did not significantly reduce NEE, while Typhoo Fanapi reduced gross ecosystem production (GEP) by about 12%. However, NEE was increased by Typhoon Megi, which resulted from lower daily ecosystem respiration (Re) following the typhoon. Our results indicate that, although theses typhoons caused significant defoliation, they had little effect on ecosystem carbon exchange over the short periods following the typhoons.

\\u000a ‘Mangrove’ is an overall term to indicate a tropical or subtropical community of highly adapted trees and shrub species growing\\u000a in intertidal estuarine and secluded marine areas. Mangroves act as physical barrier to mitigate the effects of coastal disasters\\u000a like tsunami, hurricanes, and waves. Mangroves create unique niche that hosts rich agglomeration of species diversity. The\\u000a submerged part of mangrove

SUMMARY Historical research has enhanced understanding of past human influences on forests and provides insights that can improve current conservation efforts. This paper presents one of the first detailed studies of mangroveforest history. Historical changes in mangroves and their use were examined in Bais Bay and Banacon Island, Philippines. Cutting to make space for fish ponds and residential settlement

Coastal mangroveforests of Australo-Papua harbor the world's richest avifauna restricted to mangroves, however their biogeographic origins and evolutionary processes shaping their current distributions are not well ...

Forests in the Ukraine are affected by environmental pollution, intensive forestry practice, and recreational uses. These factors make them sensitive to impacts of climate change. Since 1989 Ukraine has participated in the International Cooperative Program on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP-Forests). A network of monitoring plots has been established in 14 administrative regions and in

Coastal mangrove vegetation in Haiti continues to be threatened and diminished consistently due to uncontrolled logging. Research on Haitian mangroves is required to monitor their state and ensure their sustainable management. Indeed, planners and resource managers have a critical need for accurate inventories of mangrove communities and their biophysical characteristics. This study was performed to assess the usefulness of Advanced

The Andaman tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 killed about a quarter million people worldwide, of which 52 deaths happened in Penang, Malaysia. Mangroveforests fringing the shallow coastal seas of Penang Island and northwest of Peninsular Malaysia have been credited to have played a role in mitigating the tsunami waves. It is therefore relevant to assess the role of mangroves in tsunami mitigation by analytical model and numerical simulations. The role of mangroveforest in reducing tsunami wave energy, heights and velocities are simulated by the incorporation of the Morison Equation to represent friction provided by the mangroveforest for the coasts of Penang. Wave heights and velocities can be reduced in the presence of mangrove. However the degree of reduction varies significantly depending on several factors such as wave period and wavelength as well as mangrove characteristics including forest widths and density. For a wave of 10 km wavelength, with wave height and velocity of 1.0 m and 1.0 m/s, respectively at the shore without a mangroveforest, then a mangroveforest of 500 m width may provide a reduction ratio for wave height and wave velocity of about 0.55 and 0.50, respectively.

Forest Park Beach, a coastal-development project on the shore of Lake Michigan at Lake Forest, Illinois, consists of a series of segmented, rubble-mound breakwaters that form four beach cells and a small-boat launch basin. The project was designed to have minimal impact on local littoral-transport processes. The 9-hectare footprint extends no more than 107 m lakeward of the preconstruction shoreline; the arcuate plan for the project was designed to facilitate littoral sediment bypass. In order to evaluate the project's impact on littoral processes, the City of Lake Forest is required to conduct a monitoring program to identify any adverse effects such as updrift accretion and downdrift erosion. Annual and semi-annual monitoring has been underway since project completion in 1987. In 1991, the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) began independent data collection and review of the annual monitoring data. As of the 1992 ISGS monitoring, the project is allowing for the development of natural bypass by the littoral-sediment stream. A bar occurs in 0.9 to 1.2 m of water on the north side of the project and continues as an accretionary wedge along the lakeward side of the breakwaters for approximately two-thirds of the project length. One adverse impact is that the beach cells are acting as traps for fine sand, with the greatest entrapment in the three northern (updrift) cells. Comparison of 1987 and 1992 profiles from the beach cells indicates nearshore accretion of as much as two meters. To date no detrimental effects to shoreline properties have been documented downdrift of the project.

Mapping and monitoring tropical evergreen forests is a challenging task. Unlike the maximum once per day acquisition of a polar-orbiting satellite, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series (GOES) will provide multiple daily views and thus significantly increase the chance to produce a high quality and high frequency data product with reduced cloud contamination. Observations from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra-red Imager (SEVIRI), onboard the European Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite, are used in this study to monitor tropical region vegetation dynamics. The SEVIRI data we used contain observations of land surface at 30-minute time intervals. We used top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance values from the spectral bands of red (0.635um), NIR (0.81um) and SWIR (1,64 um) and other satellite geometry information to calculate NDVI, angular corrected NDVI and land surface water index, i.e., LSWI = (RNIR-RSWIR)/(RNIR+RSWIR), at 30-minute time intervals for the year 2009. We generated daily, weekly and monthly NDVI and LSWI based on maximum NDVIs. We examined the pattern of cloud occurrence and precipitation and the phenology of green vegetation in Amazon and center Africa regions by dividing each region into the south and north part of the equator. It is found that tropical regions may have 4 times or less clear-sky observations per day while other regions can have more than 10 times of good observations per day. Amazon regions have less chance to get clear-sky observations than center African regions. During the Amazon rain/wet season, some areas cannot get even one good observation per day. It is also found that NDVI seasonality (vegetation growth) is controlled by local precipitation. However, forest NDVI in Amazon has an opposite seasonal cycle against rainfall, which is consistent with MODIS NDVI data. High NDVI corresponds to high LSWI. Tropical forests generally have LSWI value larger than 0. However, the seasonal curve of LSWI is very flat (flatter than the NDVI curve) in Amazon forests, indicating that LSWI is insensitive to drought in this region. In contrast, LSWI is sensitive to wet/dry conditions in Africa, especially in savannas systems, suggesting that LSWI can be served as a drought index in most regions except in tropical forests.

Individual identification of the relatively cryptic forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) at forest clearings currently provides the highest quality monitoring data on this ecologically important but increasingly threatened species. Here we present baseline data from the first 20 years of an individually based study of this species, conducted at the Dzanga Clearing, Central African Republic. A total of 3,128 elephants were identified over the 20-year study (1,244 adults; 675 females, 569 males). It took approximately four years for the majority of elephants visiting the clearing to be identified, but new elephants entered the clearing every year of the study. The study population was relatively stable, varying from 1,668 to 1,864 individuals (including juveniles and infants), with increasingly fewer males than females over time. The age-class distribution for females remained qualitatively unchanged between 1995 and 2010, while the proportion of adult males decreased from 20% to 10%, likely reflecting increased mortality. Visitation patterns by individuals were highly variable, with some elephants visiting monthly while others were ephemeral users with visits separated by multiple years. The number of individuals in the clearing at any time varied between 40 and 100 individuals, and there was little evidence of a seasonal pattern in this variation. The number of elephants entering the clearing together (defined here as a social group) averaged 1.49 (range 1-12) for males and 2.67 (range 1-14) for females. This collation of 20 years of intensive forest elephant monitoring provides the first detailed, long term look at the ecology of bai visitation for this species, offering insight to the ecological significance and motivation for bai use, social behavior, and threats to forest elephants. We discuss likely drivers (rainfall, compression, illegal killing, etc.) influencing bai visitation rates. This study provides the baseline for future demographic and behavioral studies of this population. PMID:24386460

Mangroveforests are considered to be a unique and complex major component of coastal zones in the tropical and sub-tropical\\u000a regions. They represent transitional ecosystems where the ocean, land, and freshwater meet. Their main vegetation components\\u000a are generally evergreen trees or shrubs that grow along coastlines, brackish estuaries or delta habitats. Mangrove habitats\\u000a are easily recognized as they are located

The bacteria involved in the biodegradation of Enteromorpha prolifera (EP) are largely unknown, especially in offshore mangrove environments. In order to obtain the bacterial EP-degrading communities,\\u000a sediments from a typical mangroveforest were sampled on the roots of mangrove in Dongzhai Port (Haikou, China). The sediments were enriched with crude EP powders as the sole carbon source. The bacterial composition

Hurricanes have shaped the structure of mangroveforests in the Everglades via wind damage, storm surges and sediment deposition.\\u000a Immediate effects include changes to stem size-frequency distributions and to species relative abundance and density. Long-term\\u000a impacts to mangroves are poorly understood at present. We examine impacts of Hurricane Wilma on mangroves and compare the\\u000a results to findings from three previous

The role of mangrove primary production in the carbon cycle of mangrove ecosystems and in the coastal zone continues to be an issue of debate. Although it was long hypothesized that a direct trophic link exists between mangroves and faunal communities in adjacent aquatic habitats, all recent studies find little or no evidence for the existence of such a link, and many of the earlier work which fed the persistence of the "outwelling hypothesis" may need to be re-interpreted. Mangrove ecosystems are highly variable, however, and a data compilation from widely differing mangrove ecosystems shows that although organic carbon stocks in intertidal mangroveforests can be very high and almost entirely of mangrove origin, there are also systems in which deposited estuarine or marine suspended matter is the dominant source of organic carbon and nitrogen in these sediments. Such variations are expected to have a major impact on the carbon dynamics in mangrove ecosystems. In particular, we find that the carbon substrate for microbial populations varies strongly between mangrove ecosystems with different sedimentary carbon inputs, and that for "flow-through" systems with important external carbon inputs to the intertidal zone, surprisingly few species of macro-invertebrates make significant use of mangrove carbon as a food source. Preliminary results suggest that as more mangrove litter is retained within the system, its trophic importance also becomes higher. Large uncertainties remain concerning the ecological fate of exported mangrove carbon. As little evidence can be found for its assimilation by subtidal faunal communities, and as the sedimentary organic carbon pool in some systems suggest that its contribution is minor, mineralization might represent a quantitatively important fate of mangrove production, although very few direct measurements exist. For an extensive mangrove ecosystem in the Gautami Godavari delta (east-India), we demonstrate that very abrupt local changes can occur in the aquatic biogeochemistry, whereby mangrove creeks act as localized sites of mineralization of organic matter, and for subsequent efflux of CO_2 towards the atmosphere.

Forests currently cover over 20% of the Australian continent and are an important resource, subject to a wide range of economic and environmental pressures. These lands support substantial numbers of forest-dependent species with national forest inventories providing important information on biodiversity. National scale information on these forests has been collected or collated since 1988 under the National Forest Inventory (NFI)

Disturbance is an integral component in mangroveforest dynamics, influencing forest structure, composition, and function.\\u000a The impacts of human disturbance, however, threaten mangroveforests throughout the world. Small-scale wood harvesting on\\u000a the small Pacific island of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, provided an instructive scenario for exploring the dynamics\\u000a of human disturbance. Natural disturbances on the island are rare, but

This study was carried out with the primary aim of understanding how the mangrove ecosystem in the Niger Delta has been altered recently. Specifically, we determined the spatial extent of the mangroveforest in the Niger Delta using remotely sensed satellite data and estimated changes in the spatial extent of the forest from the mid-1980s through 2003. Overall, about 21,340

Central Africa has the second largest unfragmented block of tropical rain forest in the world; it is also one of the largest carbon and biodiversity reservoirs. With nearly one-third of the forest currently allocated for logging, the region is poised to undergo extensive land-use change. Through the mapping of the forests, our Integrated ForestMonitoring System for Central Africa (INFORMS) project aims to monitor habitat alteration, support biodiversity conservation, and promote better land-use planning and forest management. Designed as an interdisciplinary project, its goal is to integrate data acquired from satellites with field observations from forest inventories, wildlife surveys, and socio-economic studies to map and monitorforest resources. This project also emphasizes on collaboration and coordination with international, regional, national, and local partners-including non-profit, governmental, and commercial sectors. This project has been focused on developing remote sensing products for the needs of forest conservation and management, insuring that research findings are incorporated in forest management plans at the national level. The societal impact of INFORMS can be also appreciated through the development of a regional remote sensing network in central Africa. With a regional office in Kinshasa, (www.OSFAC.org), the contribution to the development of forest management plans for 1.5 million hectares of forests in northern Republic of Congo (www.tt-timber.com), and the monitoring of park encroachments in the Albertine region (Uganda and DRC) (www.albertinerift.org).

This site includes a wealth of detailed information on Australian-specific and non-specific mangroves. Information includes coping with salt, zones, flora and associated fauna, history, facts & stats. Links to several Australian locales that feature mangroves. Can also access other Queensland habitats and additional branches of the EPA.

The study contains the results of forestmonitoring at three levels: the forests condition assessment at the time of recording or mapping for this indicator, the seasonal changes assessment in the forests condition, mainly during the vegetation period and the evaluation of long-term changes in the values of the studied parameters on the example of the forests recovery after a fire. The use of two indices - NDVI and Image Difference in the boreal forestsmonitoring is treated. NDVI assesses the state of plant biomass and its productivity. The rate of Image Difference characterizes the optical density and allows estimate the density of the forest stand. In addition, by identifying Image Difference on summer and autumn pictures it can makes a distinction of different wood species, to divide forest areas, which consist of deciduous and coniferous species and larch which shedded needles at the end of the vegetation period. Therefore, it is possible to differentiate the pine, cedar, spruce forests on the one side and birch, larch, alder on the other side. The optical density of the forest decreases after the needles- and the leaf sheddings. Using the index Image Difference in estimates of long-term changes of the forest stand shows the trend of changes of the forest density and the tree species composition. The results of the analysis of the recovery process of the forest after a fire in the period from 1995 to 2009 showed how shoots of birch, larch and pine recover wastelands.

Long-term monitoring of stream chemistry of forested watersheds on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia has been conducted to determine the effects of both human- induced and natural disturbances on nutrient cycling and stream chemistry. We compare mean annual stream water pH, and nitrate (NO3), sulfate (SO4), and calcium (Ca) concentrations from 6 gauged Fernow watersheds with different disturbance

Large-scale tropical forestmonitoring efforts in support of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation plus enhancing forest carbon stocks) confront a range of challenges. REDD+ activities typically have short reporting time scales, diverse data needs, and low tolerance for uncertainties. Meeting these challenges will require innovative use of remote sensing data, including integrating data at different spatial and temporal resolutions. The global scientific community is engaged in developing, evaluating, and applying new methods for regional to global scale forestmonitoring. Pilot REDD+ activities are underway across the tropics with support from a range of national and international groups, including SilvaCarbon, an interagency effort to coordinate US expertise on forestmonitoring and resource management. Early actions on REDD+ have exposed some of the inherent tradeoffs that arise from the use of incomplete or inaccurate data to quantify forest area changes and related carbon emissions. Here, we summarize recent advances in forestmonitoring to identify and target the main sources of uncertainty in estimates of forest area changes, aboveground carbon stocks, and Amazon forest carbon emissions.

During March 1988 and May 1991, the JPL airborne synthetic aperture radar, AIRSAR, collected sets of multi-temporal imagery of the Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest near Fairbanks, Alaska. These data sets consist of series of multi-polarized images collected at P-, L-, and C-bands each over a period of a few days. The AIRSAR campaigns were complemented with extensive ground measurements that included observations of both static canopy characteristics such as forest architecture as well as properties that vary on short term time scales such as canopy dielectric conditions. Observations exist for several stands of deciduous and coniferous species including white spruce (Picea glauca), black spruce (Picea mariana), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). Although the duration of each campaign was fairly short, significant changes in environmental conditions caused notable variations in the physiological state of the canopies. During the 1988 campaign, environmental conditions ranged from unseasonably warm to more normal subfreezing temperatures. This permitted AIRSAR observations of frozen and thawed canopy states. During May 1991, ice jams that occurred along the river caused many stands to flood while the subsequent clearing of the river then allowed the waters to recede, leaving a snow covered ground surface. This allowed observations of several stands during both flooded and nonflooded conditions. Furthermore, the local weather varied from clear sunny days to heavy overcast days with some occurrence of rain. Measurements of leaf water potential indicated that this caused significant variations in canopy water status, allowing SAR observations of water stressed and unstressed trees. Mean backscatter from several stands is examined for the various canopy physiological states. The changes in canopy backscatter that occur as a function of environmental and physiological state are analyzed. Preliminary results of a backscatter signature modeling analysis are presented. The implications of using SAR to monitor canopy phenological state are addressed.

Mangrove ecosystems perhaps represent the most diverse combination of floral, faunal and physical elements among coastal habitats. angrove forests are globally widespread in the tropics and subtropics and provide a dynamic interface between the sea and the land. angrove ecosystem...

Forest Watch, a k-12 science outreach program begun at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 1991, has engaged pre-college students in providing UNH researchers with data on the annual response of white pine (Pinus strobus; a bio-indicator species for ozone exposure) to ground-level ozone across the New England region. Each year, student-collected growth and foliar symptomology data for 5 pine trees adjacent to their schools, along with first-year foliar samples, are submitted to UNH. Key foliar symptoms and student data are compared with summer monthly (JJA) maximum ozone concentrations collected by state and federal ozone monitoring stations across the region. To date, tree health indicators are inversely correlated (r2=0.83;p=0.10) with ozone concentrations: low ozone levels correlate with symptoms of good health (spectral indices diagnostic of high foliar chlorophyll levels and moisture content, normal incremental growth, low number of foliar symptoms), while summers characterized by high ozone concentrations correlate with symptoms of reduced health (low chlorophyll indices and moisture content, reduced incremental growth, increased number of foliar symptoms). In drought years (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003) few foliar symptoms of ozone damage are seen even though ozone levels were high, likely due to drought-induced stomatal closure. Based on student data since 1998, either low ozone summers, or drought summers have resulted in improved health in the sampled trees (n=30). Based on the success of Forest Watch in New England, we are exploring the extension of the program to Colorado as Front Range Forest Watch, operated from Colorado State University (CSU). The primary objective is to develop a student-scientist-local agency project that addresses real ecological issues in northern Colorado, including ozone pollution, and to provide pre-college students and teachers authentic science experiences. CSU runs a GK-12 program with Poudre School District in northern Colorado, which infuses ecology graduate students into the public school system to assist in the delivery of science content. The extension of Forest Watch to northern Colorado will provide a test-bed for the possible extension of the program to the rest of the state.

Four-dimensional (4D) seismic exploration, an improved geophysical technique for hydrocarbon-data acquisition, was applied for the first time in the Nembe Creek prospect area of Nigeria. The affected soils were slightly alkaline in situ when wet (pH 7.2), but extremely acidic when dry (pH 3.0). The organic carbon content (4.6-26.8%) and other physicochemical properties of soils and water (N, P, and heavy-metal contents, etc.) were higher than the baseline values obtained in 2001 before seismic profiling. Most values also exceeded the baseline compliance standards of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). Rehabilitation of the affected areas was achieved by stabilizing the mangrove floor by liming and appropriate application of nutrients, followed by replanting the cut seismic lines over a distance of 1,372 km with different mangrove species, including juvenile Rhizophora racemosa, R. mangle, and Avicennia species, which were transferred from nursery points. Quicker post-operational intervention is recommended for future 4D surveys, because the time lag between the end of seismic activity and post-impact investigation is critical in determining the relationship between activity and impact: the longer the intervening period, the more mooted the interaction. PMID:17886833

Ground vegetation (GV) is an important component from which many forest biodiversity indicators can be estimated. To formulate\\u000a policies at European level, taking into account biodiversity, European National Forest Inventories (NFIs) are one of the most\\u000a important sources of forest information. However, for monitoring GV, there are several definitions, data collection methods,\\u000a and different possible indicators. Even though it must

Tropical coastal forests – mangroves – will be one of the first ecosystems to be affected by altered sea levels accompanying\\u000a global climate change. Responses of mangroveforests to changing sea levels depend on reactions of individual plants, yet\\u000a such responses have not been addressed experimentally. We report data from a long-term greenhouse study that assessed physiological\\u000a and individual growth

Thermal infrared imagery from several satellite instruments, such as the NOAA AVHRR and the NASA MODIS, is presently used to detect and map forest fires. But while these radiometers can identify fires they are designed and optimized for cloud detection, providing relatively low spatial resolution and quickly saturating even for small fires. Efforts to de tect and monitorforest fires

Forest fire prevention is always the focus of attention worldwide, and an important aspect on which governments invest heavily in ecological protection. All of the geographic information (such as latitude and longitude, elevation) has become the public data at the areas deployed forest fire prevention system based on the video monitoring system. It is more expediently to set up the

We established breeding bird monitoring programs in three National Forests in northern Minnesota (Superior and Chippewa in 1991) and northern Wisconsin (Che- quamegon in 1992). A total of 134, 169, and 132 stands (1,272 survey points) have been surveyed annually in these forests through 2002. We examined trends in rel- ative abundance for 53 species in the Chequamegon, 51 species

Monitoring Birds in a Regional Landscape: Lessons from the Nicolet National Forest Bird Survey1 Wisconsin (Kuhlmann 1990) have underscored the need for better information about local animal and plant pop

The National Forest Management Act (1976) specifies that multiresource inventories be conducted to provide baseline data for development and, later, monitoring of national forest management plans. This mandate entails the most ambitious and complex resource planning effort ever attempted. In this paper we evaluate the structure and use of current inventory-monitoring programs and recommend a framework for gathering data to improve national forest planning. Current national guidelines are general and provide only basic directions to forest-level planners. Forest inventories have traditionally concentrated on timber. Although these inventories are often well designed, the questions we are now asking about forest resources have outgrown these methods. Forest management is impeded by general confusion over definitions of resources and the interactions among them. We outline a simple classification scheme that centers on identification of basic ecosystem elements that can be readily measured. Furthermore, spatial and temporal scales must be considered in the design of inventory-monitoring programs. The concept of ecological indicators is reviewed, and caution is advised in their use. Inventory-monitoring programs should be goal-directed and based on as rigorous a statistical design as possible. We also review fundamental issues of variable selection, validation, and sampling bias. We conclude by developing a flexible inventory-monitoring program that is designed to provide information on individual characteristics of the environment, rather than being based on fixed definitions of resources.

Reliable monitoring of the leaf area index (LAI) is required to further understand the carbon, water, and energy cycles of forests. In this study, we proposed a new satellite-based method to estimate the overstory LAI (LAIo) separately from the understory LAI (LAIu) for larch forests covering eastern Siberia. We modeled forest scenes representative of larch forest structure, with particular consideration

Environmental factors strongly affect mangrove crabs, and some factors modulate population structure and habitat partitioning during the crabs' life cycle. However, the effect of these environmental factors on habitat selection by mangrove crabs is still unknown. We evaluated habitat selection by the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus in mangroveforests with different degrees of predominance of Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa or Avicennia schaueriana, two tidal flooding levels (less- and more-flooded), and two biological periods (breeding and non-breeding seasons). Sampling was conducted in four mangroveforests with different influences of these biotic and abiotic parameters. We used the data for sex ratio to explain environmental partitioning by this species. Females predominated in R. mangle mangroves, independently of the biological period (breeding or non-breeding seasons), and males predominated only in the less-flooded L. racemosa mangroves. The flooding level affected the sex ratio of U. cordatus, with a predominance of males in less-flooded mangroves, independently of the biological period; and a gender balance in the more-flooded mangroves only during the breeding season. Outside the breeding season, the largest specimens were recorded in the R. mangle mangroves, but in the breeding season, the largest crabs were recorded in the L. racemosa mangroves with a higher level of flooding. These results suggest that tree-species composition and tidal flooding level can have a significant effect on the habitat partitioning of sexes and sizes of the mangrove crab U. cordatus both during and outside the breeding season.

Mangroves on Pacific high islands offer a number of important ecosystem services to both natural ecological communities and\\u000a human societies. High islands are subjected to constant erosion over geologic time, which establishes an important source\\u000a of terrigeneous sediment for nearby marine communities. Many of these sediments are deposited in mangroveforests and offer\\u000a mangroves a potentially important means for adjusting

Understanding the drivers of species' geographic distribution has fundamental implications for the management of biodiversity. For coral reef fishes, mangroves have long been recognized as important nursery habitats sustaining biodiversity in the Western Atlantic but there is still debate about their role in the Indo-Pacific. Here, we combined LA-ICP-MS otolith microchemistry, underwater visual censuses (UVC) and mangrove cartography to estimate the importance of mangroves for the Indo-Pacific coral reef fish Lutjanus fulviflamma in the archipelago of New Caledonia. Otolith elemental compositions allowed high discrimination of mangroves and reefs with 83.8% and 98.7% correct classification, respectively. Reefs were characterized by higher concentrations of Rb and Sr and mangroves by higher concentrations of Ba, Cr, Mn and Sn. All adult L. fulviflamma collected on reefs presented a mangrove signature during their juvenile stage with 85% inhabiting mangrove for their entire juvenile life (about 1 year). The analysis of 2942 UVC revealed that the species was absent from isolated islands of the New Caledonian archipelago where mangroves were absent. Furthermore, strong positive correlations existed between the abundance of L. fulviflamma and the area of mangrove (r?=?0.84 for occurrence, 0.93 for density and 0.89 for biomass). These results indicate that mangroveforest is an obligatory juvenile habitat for L. fulviflamma in New Caledonia and emphasize the potential importance of mangroves for Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes. PMID:25140697

Mangroves are the characteristic littoral plant formations of tropical/subtropical sheltered coastlines. Presented is a detailed report which discusses uses made of mangrove ecosystems and attempts to resolve conflicts arising from these uses. Areas considered include cause/consequence of mangrove destruction, legislative/administrative aspects,…

Measuring forest degradation and related forest carbon stock changes is more challenging than measuring deforestation since degradation implies changes in the structure of the forest and does not entail a change in land use, making it less easily detectable through remote sensing. Although we anticipate the use of the IPCC guidance under the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there is no one single method for monitoringforest degradation for the case of REDD+ policy. In this review paper we highlight that the choice depends upon a number of factors including the type of degradation, available historical data, capacities and resources, and the potentials and limitations of various measurement and monitoring approaches. Current degradation rates can be measured through field data (i.e. multi-date national forest inventories and permanent sample plot data, commercial forestry data sets, proxy data from domestic markets) and/or remote sensing data (i.e. direct mapping of canopy and forest structural changes or indirect mapping through modelling approaches), with the combination of techniques providing the best options. Developing countries frequently lack consistent historical field data for assessing past forest degradation, and so must rely more on remote sensing approaches mixed with current field assessments of carbon stock changes. Historical degradation estimates will have larger uncertainties as it will be difficult to determine their accuracy. However improving monitoring capacities for systematic forest degradation estimates today will help reduce uncertainties even for historical estimates. PMID:22115360

Mangroveforests provide a great number of ecosystem services ranging from shoreline protection (e.g. against erosion, tsunamis and storms), nutrient cycling, fisheries production, building materials and habitat. Mangroveforests have been shown to store very large amounts of Carbon, both above and belowground, with storage capacities even greater than tropical rainforests. But as a result of their location and economic value, they are among the most rapidly changing landscapes in the World. Mangrove extent is limited 1) in total extent to tidally influenced coastal areas and 2) to tropical and subtropical regions. This can lead to difficulties mapping mangrove type (such as degraded vs non degraded, scrub vs tall, dense vs sparse) because of cloud cover and limited access to high-resolution optical data. To accurately quantify the effect of land use and climate change on tropical wetland ecosystems, we must develop effective mapping methodologies that take into account not only extent, but also the structure and health of the ecosystem. This must be done by including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. In this research, we used L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar data from the ALOS/PALSAR and UAVSAR instruments over selected sites in the Americas (Sierpe, Costa Rica and Everglades, Florida)and Asia (Sundarbans). In particular, we used the SAR data in combination with other remotely sensed data and field data to 1) map mangrove extent 2) determine mangrove type, health and adjascent land use, and 3) estimate aboveground biomass and carbon storage for entire mangrove systems. We used different classification methodologies such as polarimetric decomposition, unsupervised classification and image segmentation to map mangrove type. Because of the high resolution of the radar data, and its ability to interact with forest volume, we are able to identify mangrove zones and differentiate between mangroves and other forests/land uses. We also integrated InSAR data (SRTM), spaceborne Lidar (GLAS) and field data, in combination with the SAR data to derive aboveground biomass and carbon storage in mangroves. We successfully produced maps of mangrove extent, type, health and carbon storage by using L-band SAR data. Our results show that both UAVSAR and ALOS/PALSAR data alone are effective datasets for mapping mangrove extent, type and other land use. By combining multiple datasets, we were able to determine mangrove biomass without an upper estimation limit and with low error.

Mangrove trees tend to be larger and mangrove communities more diverse in tropical latitudes, particularly where there is high rainfall. Variation in the structure, growth and productivity of mangroveforests over climatic gradients suggests they are sensitive to variations in climate, but evidence of changes in the structure and growth of mangrove trees in response to climatic variation is scarce. Bomb-pulse radiocarbon dating provides accurate dates of recent wood formation and tree age of tropical and subtropical tree species. Here, we used radiocarbon techniques combined with X-ray densitometry to develop a wood density chronology for the mangrove Avicennia marina in the Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia (WA). We tested whether wood density chronologies of A. marina were sensitive to variation in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Index, which reflects temperature fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean and is linked to the instrumental rainfall record in north WA. We also determined growth rates in mangrove trees from the Exmouth Gulf, WA. We found that seaward fringing A. marina trees (?10 cm diameter) were 48±1 to 89±23 years old (mean ± 1?) and that their growth rates ranged from 4.08±2.36 to 5.30±3.33 mm/yr (mean ±1?). The wood density of our studied mangrove trees decreased with increases in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Index. Future predicted drying of the region will likely lead to further reductions in wood density and their associated growth rates in mangroveforests in the region. PMID:24265797

This review addresses mangrove management activities in the broader context of the diversity of the mangrove benthos. Goals for mangrove ecosystem management include silviculture, aquaculture, or 'ecosystem services' such as coastal protection. Silvicultural management of mangroves generally neglects the benthos, although benthic invertebrates may affect tree establishment and growth, and community composition of benthic invertebrates may be a reliable indicator of the state of managed mangroveforests. Similarly, mangrove aquaculture focuses on particular species with little attention paid either to impacts on other trophic levels or to feedbacks with the trees. Exploitation of mangrove-associated prawns, crabs, and molluscs has a total economic value > US $4 billion per year. These aquaculture operations still rely on wild-collected stock; world-wide patterns of exploitation fit the well-known process of 'roving banditry', where mobile agents move from location to location, rapidly exploiting and depleting local resources before moving on to other, as-yet unprotected grounds. Collection of brood stock and fishing for other external inputs required by aquaculture (e.g., 'trash fish') removes intermediate trophic levels from marine food webs, may destabilize them, and lead to secondary extinctions of higher-order predators. Increased attention being paid to the role of mangroves in coastal protection following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami provides an opportunity to reassess the relative merits of management focused on short-term economic gains. Managing for ecosystem services may ultimately preserve benthic biodiversity in mangrove ecosystems.

Litter dynamics and outwelling of particulate organic matter (POM) was investigated in a subtropical mangrove (Okinawa Island, South Japan) in order to quantify the impact of mangrove POM on adjacent intertidal sediments. A distinct seasonal pattern was found with maximum litter fall during the autumn season, and minimum during winter. Total litter production between sites did not differ significantly. Tall mangroves (average 7 m) did not show any higher contribution to the litter production than short mangroves (average 4 m). The mean annual litter production was 12.95 ± 2.95 t ha -1 (dry weight) with leaf fall contributing more than 70% of the total litter production. Analysis of fatty acids (FAs) in the surface sediments of an adjacent mud flat and sand flat during the winter, spring and autumn seasons indicated that outwelling of POM from the mangrove ecosystem occurs. However, it is spatially restricted to within 300 m from the mangroveforest. The magnitude of the outwelling increased during spring and autumn consistent with the increase in the total litter production. Despite the presence of mangrove-derived organic matter in the estuarine surface sediments, autochthonous sources of organic matter, green macroalgae ( Ulva pertusa and Enteromorpha intestinalis), diatoms and bacteria are the main contributors of sedimentary organic matter and ?3 and ?6 PUFAs than mangrove-derived (POM) during winter and spring. While the contribution of mangrove-derived POM to sedimentary organic matter is limited to the autumn season.

The benthic fauna in mangroveforests is usually dominated by burrowing sesarmid (Grapsidae) and fiddler crabs (Ocypodidae). They are herbivores that retain, bury, macerate and ingest litter and microalgal mats. Most species within these two groups actively dig and maintain burrows in the sediment as a refuge from predation and environmental extremes. Based on the current knowledge on the biology

Coastal mangroveforests were historically considered as a source of organic matter (OM) for adjacent marine systems due to high net primary production; yet recent research suggesting little uptake through the food web because of low nutritional quality, challenges the concept of...

In a growing world with more than 7 billion inhabitants and big emerging countries such as China, Brazil and India, emissions of anthropogenic pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) are increasing continuously. Their monitoring and control in megacities have become a major challenge for scientists and public health authorities in environmental research area. The ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer (QualAir FTS[a], model IFS 125HR) of the QualAir platform located in downtown Paris at University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), is a scientific research instrument dedicated to the survey of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and urban air quality. Equipped with a sun-tracker, the remote sensing QualAir FTS relies on solar infrared absorption for monitoring trace gas concentrations and their variability in the Ile-de-France region[b]. Concentrations of atmospheric GHGs, especially CO2, CH4 and N2O, are retrieved by the radiative transfer model PROFFIT[c]. Because Paris is the third largest European megacity, the QualAir FTS can provide new and complementary measurements as compared to existing ground-based FTS network stations (NDACC and TCCON) located in unpolluted environments, such as the TCCON-Orléans station[d] situated in the forest of Orléans (100 km south of Paris). In the effort to integrate QualAir FTS into the TCCON network, simultaneous FTS measurements of GHGs at Paris and Orléans have been performed. We will emphasize on comparisons of CO2 from these two sites. Our comparison will be completed by high-resolved direct CO2 modeling outputs from the Meso-NH model, and ground in situ measurements at different sites (Orléans/Trainou, Paris/Jussieu, Paris/Eiffel Tower). Parts of the data were acquired in the framework of the French CO2-MEGAPARIS project[e, f], whose main goal is to quantify CO2 emissions from the Paris area. The present data intercomparison will help to reduce uncertainties in carbon cycle models and to better characterize regional GHG fluxes, especially with respect to anthropogenic emission sources (urban versus rural) and trends. References: [a] Té et al., J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 29, 911-921, 2012 [b] Té et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum., 81, 103102, 2010 [c] Hase et al., JQSRT, 87, 25-52, 2004 [d] https://tccon-wiki.caltech.edu/Sites/Orleans [e] http://co2-megaparis.lsce.ipsl.fr/ [f] Xueref-Remy et al., Abstract n°A13F-0277, AGU Fall Meeting 2010, San Francisco, USA

The significant findings are reported for remote sensing of forest lands conducted during the period October 1, 1965 to December 31, 1972. Forest inventory research included the use of aircraft and space imagery for forest and nonforest land classification, and land use classification by automated procedures, multispectral scanning, and computerized mapping. Forest stress studies involved previsual detection of ponderosa pine under stress from insects and disease, bark bettle infestations in the Black Hills, and root disease impacts on forest stands. Standardization and calibration studies were made to develop a field test of an ERTS-matched four-channel spectrometer. Calibration of focal plane shutters and mathematical modeling of film characteristic curves were also studied. Documents published as a result of all forestry studies funded by NASA for the Earth Resources Survey Program from 1965 through 1972 are listed.

Forest inventory, forest stress, and standardization and calibration studies are presented. These include microscale photointerpretation of forest and nonforest land classes, multiseasonal film densities for automated forest and nonforest land classification, trend and spread of bark beetle infestations from 1968 through 1971, aerial photography for determining optimum levels of stand density to reduce such infestations, use of airborne spectrometers and multispectral scanners for previsual detection of Ponderosa pine trees under stress from insects and diseases, establishment of an earth resources technology satellite test site in the Black Hills and the identification of natural resolution targets, detection of root disease impact on forest stands by sequential orbital and suborbital multispectral photography, and calibration of color aerial photography.

Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangroveforests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquaculture and logged for timber and fuel production. Little is known about the effects of mangrove area loss on individual mangrove species and local or regional populations. To address this gap, species-specific information on global distribution, population status, life history traits, and major threats were compiled for each of the 70 known species of mangroves. Each species' probability of extinction was assessed under the Categories and Criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Eleven of the 70 mangrove species (16%) are at elevated threat of extinction. Particular areas of geographical concern include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40% of mangroves species present are threatened with extinction. Across the globe, mangrove species found primarily in the high intertidal and upstream estuarine zones, which often have specific freshwater requirements and patchy distributions, are the most threatened because they are often the first cleared for development of aquaculture and agriculture. The loss of mangrove species will have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities, especially in those areas with low mangrove diversity and high mangrove area or species loss. Several species at high risk of extinction may disappear well before the next decade if existing protective measures are not enforced. PMID:20386710

This review examines the recent investigations on the biological activities of extracts and chemicals identified from mangroves (mangroves, mangrove minors and mangal associates). It describes how people have and are using mangroves on a traditional basis. It also describes the world's mangrove resources and products, in terms of their economical importance, medicinal values and other uses and functions. The economical

Deforestation / depletion in forest area threaten the sustainability of agricultural production systems and en-danger the economy of the country. Every year extensive areas of arable agricultural and forestlands are degraded and turned into wastelands, due to natural causes or human interventions. There are several causes of deforestation, such as expansion in agricultural area, urban development, forest fires, commercial logging, illicit cutting, grazing, constructions of dams / reservoirs and barrages, com munication links, etc. Depletion in forest cover, therefore, has an important impact on socio - economic development and ecological balance. High population growth rate in Pakistan is one of the main causes for the rapid deterioration of physical environment and natural resource base. In view of this, it is felt necessary to carryout land -u s e studies focusing on strategies for mapping the past and present conditions and extent of forests and rangelands using Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) data and GIS t echnology. The SRS and GIS technology provides a possible means of monitoring and mapping changes occurring in natural resources and the environment on a continuing basis. The riverine forests of Sindh mostly grow along the River Indus in the flood plains, spread over an area of 241,000 ha are disappearing very rapidly. Construction of dams / barrages on the upper reaches of the River Indus for hydroelectric power and irrigation works have significantly reduced the discharge of fresh water into the lower Indus basin and as a result, 100,000 acres of forests have disappeared. Furthermore, the heavy floods that occurred in 1978, 1988, 1992 and 1997, altered the course of the River Indus in many places, especially in the lower reaches, this has also damaged the riverine forests of Sindh. An integrated approach involving analysis of SRS data from 1977 to 1998 and GIS technique have been used to evaluate the geographic ex-tent and distribution of the riverine forests of Sindh and to monitor temporal changes in the forest cover between 1977 &1990 and 1990 &1998. The integrated landuse forest cover maps of riverine forest, shows temporal changes in the forest cover between 1977 &1990 and 1990 &1998, as well as in the River Indus course. The digital thematic maps based on SRS data and GIS technology can supplement existing conventional ground based sources of information for monitoring changes in forest cover on a regular basis, which can be helpful for forest resource management and planning and monitoring environmental changes.

Tropospheric ozone, formed when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with sunlight, is a significant threat to the health of US National Forests. Approximately one third of ozone is absorbed by plants during the uptake of carbon dioxide. This increases the vegetation's susceptibility to drought, beetle infestation, and wildfire. Currently the US Forest Service has ground monitoring stations sparsely located across the country. This project looks specifically at the area surrounding several Class I Wilderness Areas in the Appalachian region. These areas are the highest priority for protection from air pollutants. The Forest Service must interpolate ozone concentrations for areas between these monitoring stations. Class I Wilderness Areas are designated by the Forest Service and are defined as a total 5000 acres or greater when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1977. This Act mandated that the EPA create national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for six major air pollutants including ground-level ozone. This project assessed the feasibility of incorporating NASA ozone data into Forest Service ozone monitoring in an effort to enhance the accuracy and precision of ozone exposure measurements in Class I Wilderness Areas and other federally managed lands in order to aid in complying with the Clean Air Act of 1977. This was accomplished by establishing a method of comparison between a preliminary data product produced at the Goddard Space Flight Center that uses OMI/MLS data to derive global tropospheric ozone measurements and Forest Service ozone monitoring station measurements. Once a methodology for comparison was established, statistical comparisons of these data were performed to assess the quantitative differences.

In this paper, sustainable forest management is discussed within the historical and theoretical framework of the sustainable development debate. The various criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management put forth by different institutions are critically explored. Specific types of climate change mitigation policies/projects in the forest sector are identified and examined in the light of the general criteria for sustainable forest management. Areas of compatibility and contradiction between the climate mitigation objectives and the minimum criteria for sustainable forest management are identified and discussed. Emphasis is put on the problems of monitoring and verifying carbon benefits associated with such projects given their impacts on pre-existing policy objectives on sustainable forest management. The implications of such policy interactions on assignment of carbon credits from forest projects under Joint Implementation/Activities Implemented Jointly initiatives are discussed. The paper concludes that a comprehensive monitoring and verification regime must include an impact assessment on the criteria covered under other agreements such as the Biodiversity and/or Desertification Conventions. The actual carbon credit assigned to a specific project should at least take into account the negative impacts on the criteria for sustainable forest management. The value of the impacts and/or the procedure to evaluate them need to be established by interested parties such as the Councils of the respective Conventions.

Mangroves in the Ayeyarwady Delta is one of the most threatened ecosystems, and is rapidly disappearing as in many tropical countries. The deforestation and degradation of mangroveforest in the Ayeryarwady Delta results in the shortage of wood resources and declining of environmental services that have been provided by the mangrove ecosystem. Cyclone Nargis struck the Ayeyarwady Delta on 2 May 2008 with an intensity unprecedented in the history of Myanmar. The overexploitation of mangroves because of local demands for fuel wood and charcoal and the conversion of mangroveforest land into agricultural land or shrimp farms over the past decades have increased the loss of human life and the damage to settlements caused by the Cyclone.The biomass study was conducted in September of 2006 in Bogale Township in the Ayeyarwady Delta and continued monitoring in September of each year from 2007 to 2010. Above and below ground biomass was studied in six years old mangrove plantations of Avicenia marina (Am), Avicenia officinalis (Ao) and Sonneratia apetala (Sa) and a naturally regenerated stand under regeneration improving felling operation (NR: consists of Ceriops decandra, Bruguiera sexangula, and Aegicerus corniculatum) protected for seven years since 2000. These stands were established by small-scale Community Forestry scheme on abandoned paddy fields where natural mangroves once existed. Common allometric equations were developed for biomass estimation by performing regressions between dry weights of trees as dependent variables and biometric parameters such as stem diameter, height and wood density as independent variables. The above and below ground biomass in NR stand (70 Mg ha-1 and 104 Mg ha-1) was the greatest (P < 0.001), and followed by Sa plantation (69 Mg ha-1 and 32 Mg ha-1), Am plantation (25 Mg ha-1 and 27 Mg ha-1) and Ao plantation (21 Mg ha-1 and 26 Mg ha-1). The total carbon stock in biomass was 73 Mg C ha-1 in NR stand, 43 Mg C ha-1 in Sa plantation, 21 Mg C ha-1 in Am plantation and 18 Mg C ha-1 in Ao plantation respectively. The averaged total soil carbon stock up to 1 m soil depth in plantation site was estimated to be 167 ± 58 Mg C ha-1 which was nearly two times higher than that of current paddy fields 85 ± 17 Mg C ha-1. These facts suggest the feasibility of the mangrove plantation and induced natural regeneration as a carbon sequestration tool. The establishment of mangrove plantations appeared to be one measure for reducing the risk of cyclone damage after the Cyclone Nargis. This may reduce future human loss by cyclones and also improve the life of local people by increasing timber resources and environmental services.

tree health problems but provides information of relevance to studies of pollution effects, climate to incorporate older crops of the coniferous species. Plots were also established on private land to increase and Boswell, 1987). Forest decline was linked with air pollution by certain scientists and foresters during

Protected areas are used to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, protected areas can create tradeoffs spatially and temporally among ecosystem services, which can affect the welfare of dependent local communities. This study examines the effect of a protected area on the tradeoff between two extractive ecosystem services from mangroveforests: cutting mangroves (fuelwood) and harvesting the shrimp and fish that thrive if mangroves are not cut. We demonstrate the effect in the context of Saadani National Park (SANAPA) in Tanzania, where enforcement of prohibition of mangrove harvesting was strengthened to preserve biodiversity. Remote sensing data of mangrove cover over time are integrated with georeferenced household survey data in an econometric framework to identify the causal effect of mangrove protection on income components directly linked to mangrove ecosystem services. Our findings suggest that many households experienced an immediate loss in the consumption of mangrove firewood, with the loss most prevalent in richer households. However, all wealth classes appear to benefit from long-term sustainability gains in shrimping and fishing that result from mangrove protection. On average, we find that a 10% increase in the mangrove cover within SANAPA boundaries in a 5-km2 radius of the subvillage increases shrimping income by approximately twofold. The creation of SANAPA shifted the future trajectory of the area from one in which mangroves were experiencing uncontrolled cutting to one in which mangrove conservation is providing gains in income for the local villages as a result of the preservation of nursery habitat and biodiversity. PMID:21873182

The 1990 results of the Channel Islands National Park Kelp ForestMonitoring Project are described in this report. Sixty-eight species of algae, fish , and invertebrates were monitored annually at 16 permanent sites around the five islands within the park. Survey techniques utilized SCUBA and surface-supplied-air, and included quadrats, band transects, random point contacts, size frequencies, fish and video transects, photogrammetric plots, size frequency measurements, and species list surveys. In 1990, eight sites had healthy kelp forests, while three others had remnants or signs of a developing forest, though dominated by purple sea urchins. Four sites were dominated by purple sea urchins and one was dominated by red sea urchins. Four sites had high to moderate densities of white sea urchins, but two of those had dense kelp forests over most of the transect.

To achieve an efficient method of coastal rehabilitation, a coastal structure was applied in combination with the mangrove restoration scheme in Sungai Haji Dorani where coastal forest over-cutting associated with erosion has resulted in severe coastline retreat. Such an attempt provides the opportunity to mitigate erosion as well as improve ecological and socio-economic aspects of coastal areas, both of which are of great importance to local communities and authorities. Beach morphological changes were monitored for an eight-month period of time. The results indicate that the attempt has been successful in retaining sediment on the beach and consequently raising the elevation of the site. While the monitoring schedule is required to continue for several years to evaluate long-term performance of the rehabilitation effort, approximately 30% of the transplanted mangrove saplings' survival after eight months shows that the project was moderately successful. Since the general conditions of the selected site represent the majority of the eroded shorelines on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the method applied in this study can be replicated as an appropriate cost-effective alternative for the same cases.

The mangrove or mud crab, Scylla serrata, is an important component of mangrove fisheries throughout the Indo-Pacific. Understanding crab diets and habitat use should assist in managing these fisheries and could provide additional justification for conservation of the mangrove ecosystem itself. We used multiple chemical tracers to test whether crab movements were restricted to local mangroveforests, or extended to include adjacent seagrass beds and reef flats. We sampled three mangroveforests on the island of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia at Lelu Harbor, Okat River, and Utwe tidal channel. Samples of S. serrata and likely food sources were analyzed for stable carbon (??13C), nitrogen (??15N), and sulfur (??34S) isotopes. Scylla serrata tissues also were analyzed for phosphorus (P), cations (K, Ca, Mg, Na), and trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and B). Discriminant analysis indicated that at least 87% of the crabs remain in each site as distinct populations. Crab stable isotope values indicated potential differences in habitat use within estuaries. Values for ??13C and ??34S in crabs from Okat and Utwe were low and similar to values expected from animals feeding within mangroveforests, e.g., feeding on infauna that had average ??13C values near -26.5???. In contrast, crabs from Lelu had higher ?? 13C and ??34S values, with average values of -21.8 and 7.8???, respectively. These higher isotope values are consistent with increased crab foraging on reef flats and seagrasses. Given that S. serrata have been observed feeding on adjacent reef and seagrass environments on Kosrae, it is likely that they move in and out of the mangroves for feeding. Isotope mixing model results support these conclusions, with the greatest mangrove ecosystem contribution to S. serrata diet occurring in the largest mangroveforests. Conserving larger island mangroveforests (> 1 km deep) appears to support crab foraging activities. ?? 2007 Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.

Monitoring the dynamics of forest biomass at various spatial scales is important for better understanding the terrestrial carbon cycle as well as improving the effectiveness of forest policies and forest management activities. In this article, field data and Landsat image data acquired in 1999 and 2007 were utilized to quantify spatiotemporal changes of forest biomass for Dongsheng Forestry Farm in Changbai Mountain region of northeastern China. We found that Landsat TM band 4 and Difference Vegetation Index with a 3 × 3 window size were the best predictors associated with forest biomass estimations in the study area. The inverse regression model with Landsat TM band 4 predictor was found to be the best model. The total forest biomass in the study area decreased slightly from 2.77 × 106 Mg in 1999 to 2.73 × 106 Mg in 2007, which agreed closely with field-based model estimates. The area of forested land increased from 17.9 × 103 ha in 1999 to 18.1 × 103 ha in 2007. The stabilization of forest biomass and the slight increase of forested land occurred in the period following implementations of national forest policies in China in 1999. The pattern of changes in both forest biomass and biomass density was altered due to different management regimes adopted in light of those policies. This study reveals the usefulness of the remote sensing-based approach for detecting and monitoring quantitative changes in forest biomass at a landscape scale.

Two approaches are frequently mentioned in proposals to use tropical forest maintenance as a carbon offset. One is to set\\u000a up specific reserves, funding the establishment, demarcation, and guarding of these units. Monitoring, in this case, consists\\u000a of the relatively straightforward process of confirming that the forest stands in question continue to exist. In Amazonia,\\u000a where large expanses of tropical

The objective of this study is to analyze the potential interest of microwave radiometry to monitor coniferous forests. Microwave data were acquired by the airbone multifrequency radiometer PORTOS (5 GHz, 10.6 GHz, 23.8 GHz, 36.5 GHz, and 90 GHz) over a test site in Les Landes Forest (France). The test site consists of large homogeneous stands of maritime pines (Pinus

Discusses the importance of interpretive programs in the Northern Territory of Australia. Describes the typical interpretive approach of local school science curricula, which serve 20,000 Aboriginal children. Addresses the curriculum framework, learning strategies, and process skill development, illustrating them through a lesson on mangroves. (TW)

A grid sampling strategy was adopted for broad-scale inventory and monitoring of forest and range vegetation on National Forest System lands in the Pacific Northwest Region, USDA Forest Service. This paper documents the technical details of the adopted design and discusses alternative sampling designs that were considered. The design is flexible and can be used with many types of maps. The theory of point and change estimation is described, as well as estimates of variation that assess the statistical precision of estimates.

Cypress swamp forests of Louisiana offer many important ecological and economic benefits: wildlife habitat, forest products, storm buffers, water quality, and recreation. Such forests are also threatened by multiple factors: subsidence, salt water intrusion, sea level rise, persistent flooding, hydrologic modification, hurricanes, insect and nutria damage, timber harvesting, and land use conversion. Unfortunately, there are many information gaps regarding the type, location, extent, and condition of these forests. Better more up to date swamp forest mapping products are needed to aid coastal forest conservation and restoration work (e.g., through the Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative or CFCI). In response, a collaborative project was initiated to develop, test and demonstrate cypress swamp forest mapping products, using NASA supported Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS satellite data. Research Objectives are: Develop, test, and demonstrate use of Landsat and ASTER data for computing new cypress forest classification products and Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS satellite data for detecting and monitoring swamp forest change

Mangrove wetlands exist in the transition zone between terrestrial and marine environments and as such were historically overlooked in discussions of terrestrial and marine carbon cycling. In recent decades, mangroves have increasingly been credited with producing and burying large quantities of organic carbon (OC). The amount of available data regarding OC burial in mangrove soils has more than doubled since the last primary literature review (2003). This includes data from some of the largest, most developed mangroveforests in the world, providing an opportunity to strengthen the global estimate. First-time representation is now included for mangroves in Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand, along with additional data from Mexico and the United States. Our objective is to recalculate the centennial-scale burial rate of OC at both the local and global scales. Quantification of this rate enables better understanding of the current carbon sink capacity of mangroves as well as helps to quantify and/or validate the other aspects of the mangrove carbon budget such as import, export, and remineralization. Statistical analysis of the data supports use of the geometric mean as the most reliable central tendency measurement. Our estimate is that mangrove systems bury 163 (+40; -31) g OC m-2 yr-1 (95% C.I.). Globally, the 95% confidence interval for the annual burial rate is 26.1 (+6.3; -5.1) Tg OC. This equates to a burial fraction that is 42% larger than that of the most recent mangrove carbon budget (2008), and represents 10–15% of estimated annual mangrove production. This global rate supports previous conclusions that, on a centennial time scale, 8–15% of all OC burial in marine settings occurs in mangrove systems.

Will mangrove encroachment into saltmarshes affect saltwater mosquito habitats? To address this, we synthesized information from two perspectives: 1) at a detailed level, the immature mosquito habitat within mangroves; 2) at a more general or regional level, changes due to mangrove expansion into saltmarshes. This is a synthesis of two research projects. One showed that mosquito larval habitats in mangroves are complex, related to the detailed interactions between topography and tidal patterns and that not all parts of a mangroveforest are suitable habitat. The other, based on remote sensing and analysis of rainfall data, showed that mangrove encroachment in eastern Australia is related to both climate and human land use over several decades (1972-2004). An important question emerged: when mangroves encroach into saltmarshes will they displace saltmarsh immature mosquito habitats or will they replace them with mangrove ones? There is no simple answer: it will vary with climate change and sea level scenario and how these affect the system. We conclude that mosquito management, which is locally implemented, needs to be integrated with land use planning systems, which often operate at a more general level. PMID:24581363

This paper describes the development of climatological information products to support ecological data collection and analysis. Characteristics of climatological persistence and recurrence that are critical to New England forest health and productivity are identified. he appropri...

Quantifying rates of forest-cover change is important for improved carbon accounting and climate change modeling, management of forestry and agricultural resources, and biodiversity monitoring. A practical solution to examining trends in forest cover change at global scale is to employ remotely sensed data. Satellite-based monitoring of forest cover can be implemented consistently across large regions at annual and inter-annual intervals. This research extends previous research on global forest-cover dynamics and land-cover change estimation to establish a robust, operational forestmonitoring and assessment system. The approach integrates both MODIS and Landsat data to provide timely biome-scale forest change estimation. This is achieved by using annual MODIS change indicator maps to stratify biomes into low, medium and high change categories. Landsat image pairs can then be sampled within these strata and analyzed for estimating area of forest cleared.

Mangrove communities are tropical systems which have fewer species than tropical forests, especially in Latin America and display a single architecture, usually lacking the various strata commonly found in other forest ecosystems. The identification of mangrove communities by orbital data is not a difficult task but the most interesting challenge is to identify themselves by the dominant species. The first step toward that floristic identification is the spectral characterization of detached leaves. Leaves from four species of mangrove trees were spectrally characterized considering the Directional Hemispherical Reflectance Factor (DHRF) determined through radiometric measurements using an integrating sphere LICOR 1800 attached to a spectroradiometer SPECTRON SE-590. In the visible bands (0.45-0.69 microm) the button-shaped mangrove Conocarpus erectus was brighter and the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle was darker than the other two species which shows very close DHRF values. Otherwise the black mangrove Avicennia germinans and the white mangrove Laguncularia racemosa can be distinguished from one another in the Near Infra Red (NIR) region (0.76-0.90 microm and in this region of the spectrum the DHRF of C. erectus and R. mangle become very close. PMID:18066436

Leaf Area Index (LAI) has been used to estimate the carbon budget in several studies and is now mapped routinely from satellite imagery. In this study, overstory forest damage and its regeneration are assessed using in-situ LAI measurements taken from 1997 to 2007 with three optical systems (LAI-2000, TRAC, and different digital hemispherical photography camera systems) following an intense freezing

Understanding tree growth as a function of tree size is important for a multitude of ecological and management applications. Determining what limits growth is of central interest, and forest inventory permanent plots are an abundant source of long-term information but are highly complex. Observation error and multiple sources of shared variation (spatial plot effects, temporal repeated measures, and a mosaic of sampling intervals) make these data challenging to use for growth estimation. We account for these complexities and incorporate potential limiting factors (tree size, competition, and resource supply) into a hierarchical state-space model. We estimate the diameter growth of white fir (Abies concolor) in the Sierra Nevada of California from forest inventory data, showing that estimating such a model is feasible in a Bayesian framework using readily available modeling tools. In this forest, white fir growth depends strongly on tree size, total plot basal area, and unexplained variation between individual trees. Plot-level resource supply variables (representing light, water, and nutrient availability) do not have a strong impact on inventory-size trees. This approach can be applied to other networks of permanent forest plots, leading to greater ecological insights on tree growth. PMID:24147402

New Jersey,s floodplain forests (FFs) contain 57 rare plant species, 25 of which are State Endangered. The acreage of FF has been substantially reduced over the past 200 years, and upland buffers have also been diminished. Threats to FF communities include stream degradation, ...

The feasibility of the ERS-1 Wind Scatterometer (WS) for monitoring the boreal forest zone is investigated, concentrating on soil frost and soil moisture monitoring. The ERS-1 WS measures the target area with coarse spatial resolution (about 50 km) using three separate antenna beams and a wide angular range. The investigations are concerned with the boreal forest zone using data (1)

Mangroveforest sediments can provide a sink for trace metals because the mangroves create a baffle that promotes the accumulation of fine-grained organic matter-rich sediment, which is usually sulphidic due to the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria. Direct adsorption, complexing with organic matter, and the formation of insoluble sulphides all contribute to the trapping of metals. The concentration and chemical speciation

The objective of this study was to measure leaf consumption levels, mainly by insect herbivores and the tree-dwelling crab Aratus pisonii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), in mangroveforests of a large subtropical estuarine system in the South Atlantic Ocean, to determine if patterns of herbivory varied with forest structure, tree species and marked seasonal differences in rainfall and temperature. We

To evaluate the capability of SPOT5 HRG data for monitoring the pollarding forest areas in northern Zagros, some parts of pollarded forests located at Baneh city were selected. The Pollarding area was determined as ground truth in a 3-year alternation period using a global positioning system (GPS). Radiometric and geometric correction, were applied to the image and then the data

This study explored the use of satellite data to monitor carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) in Northern Thailand during the dry season when forest fires are known to be an important cause of air pollution. Satellite data, including Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) CO, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aerosol optical depth (MODIS AOD), and MODIS fire hotspots, were analyzed with air pollution data measured at nine automatic air quality monitoring stations in the study area for February-April months of 2008-2010. The correlation analysis showed that daily CO and PM with size below 10 ?m (PM10) were associated with the forest fire hotspot counts, especially in the rural areas with the maximum correlation coefficient (R) of 0.59 for CO and 0.65 for PM10. The correlations between MODIS AOD and PM10, between MOPITT CO and CO, and between MODIS AOD and MOPITT CO were also analyzed, confirming the association between these variables. Two forest fire episodes were selected, and the dispersion of pollution plumes was studied using the MOPITT CO total column and MODIS AOD data, together with the surface wind vectors. The results showed consistency between the plume dispersion, locations of dense hotspots, ground monitoring data, and prevalent winds. The satellite data were shown to be useful in monitoring the regional transport of forest fire plumes. PMID:24326733

MonitoringForest Carbon Sequestration with Remote Sensing and Carbon Cycle Modeling DAVID P. Carbon-cycle process models cou- pled to regional climate databases can provide information on potential the current status of the global carbon cycle and to meeting re- quirements in the United Nations Framework

The validity and use of the indicator species concept, the design of logging impact studies, the need for long-term monitoring programs and how they might be designed, and, trade-offs between conservation strategies and economic costs are topics critical to the future direction of biological conservation in managed forests. The indicator species concept can make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation

Long Point Bird Observatory ran pilot surveys in 1995 and 1996 to monitor boreal forest owls in Ontario using roadside surveys with tape playback of calls. A minimum of 791 owls on 84 routes in 1995, and 392 owls on 88 routes in 1996; nine different species were detected. Playback improved the response rate for Barred (Strix varia), Boreal (Aegolius

As part of the Intensive Monitoring Programme (IM) of Forest Ecosystems in Slovenia, the bryophyte flora and vegetation have been studied on 11 IM plots and 64 vegetation sub-plots (10×10 m). On the IM plots, high species diversity of bryophytes has been assessed. The total number of bryophytes was 109; among them 82 species belonging to the mosses (Bryophyta) and

In December 2010, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to encourage reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from forest losses with the financial support of developed countries. This important international agreement followed about seven years of effort among governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the scientific community, and is called REDD+, the program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. REDD+ could achieve its potential to slow emissions from deforestation and forest degradation either as a new market option to offset emissions from developed nations, or as a mitigation option for developing countries themselves. Aside from representing an important step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a growing list of potential co-benefits to REDD+ include improved forestry practices, forest restoration, sustainable development, and biodiversity protection. Indeed the agreement is heralded as a win-win for climate change mitigation and tropical forest conservation, and it could end up contributing to a global economy based on carbon and ecosystem services. That's good news, and some governments are now working to become 'REDD ready' in preparation for the forthcoming international program. This is important because, according to the agreements made by governments in the UNFCCC, developing countries which voluntarily decide to take part in REDD+ must establish their own national forestmonitoring system to report changes in emissions from forests (UNFCCC 2009). But as of today, no developing country has implemented a system for monitoring, reporting and verifying (MRV) emission reductions for REDD+. Of course, it is all still very new, but many REDD-type projects have been underway for years now (Parker et al 2008), and many MRV practitioners involved in those projects are the same people being asked to help with government-led, national MRV programs. Yet going from the project scale to program readiness is a big step for all involved, and many are finding that it is not easy. Current barriers to national monitoring of forest carbon stocks and emissions range from technical to scientific, and from institutional to operational. In fact, a recent analysis suggested that about 3% of tropical countries currently have the capacity to monitor and report on changes in forest cover and carbon stocks (Herold 2009). But until now, the scientific and policy-development communities have had little quantitative information on exactly which aspects of national-scale monitoring are most uncertain, and how that uncertainty will affect REDD+ performance reporting. A new and remarkable study by Pelletier, Ramankutty and Potvin (2011) uses an integrated, spatially-explicit modeling technique to explore and quantify sources of uncertainty in carbon emissions mapping throughout the Republic of Panama. Their findings are sobering: deforestation rates would need to be reduced by a full 50% in Panama in order to be detectable above the statistical uncertainty caused by several current major monitoring problems. The number one uncertainty, accounting for a sum total of about 77% of the error, rests in the spatial variation of aboveground carbon stocks in primary forests, secondary forests and on fallow land. The poor quality of and insufficient time interval between land-cover maps account for the remainder of the overall uncertainty. These findings are a show-stopper for REDD+ under prevailing science and technology conditions. The Pelletier et al study highlights the pressing need to improve the accuracy of forest carbon and land cover mapping assessments in order for REDD+ to become viable, but how can the uncertainties be overcome? First, with REDD+ nations required to report their emissions, and with verification organizations wanting to check on the reported numbers, there is a clear need for shared measurement and monitoring approaches. One of the major stumbling blocks actually starts with the scientific community, which needs not only to develop h

Dual stable isotope signatures (?13C and ?15N) were applied to determine the contribution of mangrove materials and other organic carbon sources to the invertebrate community in an ecologically important mangrove ecosystem of Vietnam. We have analyzed 181 specimens of 30 invertebrate species and found ?13C and ?15N ranging from - 14.5 to - 26.8‰ and from 1.3 to 12.1‰, respectively. From taxa measured for stable isotopes, polychaete, gastropods, bivalves, and grapsid crabs living in mangroveforest showed relative low ?13C values, while fiddler crabs inhabiting in the land-water ecotone showed the highest ?13C values. The ?13C showed that just a few mangrove inhabitants directly relied on the mangrove materials. The wide ranges of ?13C and ?15N signatures indicated that the invertebrates utilized heterogeneous diets, comprising benthic microalgae, marine phytoplankton, particulate organic matter, sediment organic matter, mangrove detritus, and meiofauna and rotten animal tissues as the supplemental nutrient food sources. Moreover, the significant correlation between ?13C values and body sizes of invertebrates showed that snails Littoraria melanostoma and Terebralia sulcata, bivalve Glauconome virens, and portunid crab Scylla serrata exhibited ontogenetic shifts in diets. The present study showed that adjacent habitats such as tidal flat and mangrove creeks seem to contribute an important microalgal food resource for invertebrates and highlighted the need for conservations of mangroveforests and the adjacent habitats.

Two mangrove species, Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle, were greenhouse grown for nearly 1.5 years from saplings. A single individual of each species was monitored for the emission of methyl halides from aerial tissue. During the first 240 days, salinity was incrementally increased with the addition of seawater, and was maintained between 18 and 28‰ for the duration of the

Forest Watch, a k-12 science outreach program begun at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 1991, has engaged pre-college students in providing UNH researchers with data on the annual response of white pine (Pinus strobus; a bio-indicator species for ozone exposure) to ground-level ozone across the New England region. Each year, student-collected growth and foliar symptomology data for 5

Large industrial and population centers of NW Russia and Estonia are great sources of air pollutants, which is regarded as a threat to the vitality of forests also in Finland. Therefore, the monitoring of forest condition has been set as a central goal of the Finnish-Russian cooperation in the field of environmental protection in near-border districts. Except in the vicinity of emissions sources it has been difficult to distinguish in a scientifically reliable way antropogenic symptoms from natural disturbances and epidemics.

Remotely sensed observations of vegetation phenology provide valuable information related to ecosystem responses to climate variability and change. Phenology is also a first-order control on land-atmosphere interactions that affect regional carbon budgets, and remote sensing observations of phenology are often used to parameterize seasonal vegetation dynamics in coupled climate-ecosystems models. Currently available ground and remote sensing-based phenology products possess considerable uncertainty. In particular, a need exists for data sets and methods that link ground-based observations of phenology acquired at local scales, to more widely available moderate resolution remote sensing data sources and products. Further, higher spatial resolution products that resolve finer spatial detail in phenology are needed to better understand local-to-regional dynamics in phenology. Data from the Landsat TM and ETM+ sensors (with a nominal spatial resolution of 30 m) provide an excellent basis for doing this, but have been largely unexplored by the phenology research community. Here we demonstrate that Landsat data has substantial utility for studies of long-term phenology dynamics. We present a technique for characterizing both long-term average and interannual dynamics in the phenology of temperate deciduous broadleaf forests using a multi-decadal time series of Landsat TM/ETM+ images in New England. Assessment of results show that spring and autumn transition dates agree closely with in-situ measurements of phenology collected at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts. Application of this method over larger scales has the potential to supply valuable information related to landscape-scale patterns and dynamics in phenology, and also provides useful information related to relationships among in-situ observations of phenology, medium resolution observations from Landsat, and moderate resolution observations from instruments such as MODIS.

Fish resources are important sources of income and protein to traditional inhabitants of coastal zones. In Garapuá village, the shellfish Lucina pectinata is the main resource exploited in mangroves. This study tests whether if in less explored areas (far from the village) L. pectinata individuals have higher densities and greater lengths, and if there was a decrease in cpue's over the last years. Samples were taken monthly in two habitats (mangrove channels and mangrove roots) in six mangrove areas by random squares. The results indicated that closer areas showed significantly lower densities than areas far from the village. Densities were significantly higher in mangrove roots (quizangas) than at channels. There was a significant increase in monthly L. pectinata cpue, from 18.2 dz./shellfish gatherers/day in 2001 to 19.3 in 2007, showing that this stock does not seem to be overexploited. However, (i) a long-term monitoring of Garapuá shellfish gatherers to evaluate if the stock will support an increasing pressure and (ii) several manipulative experiments to better understand ecological processes are suggested.

Depletion in the forest area threatens the sustainability of agricultural production systems and en-dangers the economy of the country. Every year extensive areas of arable agricultural and forestlands are degraded and turned into wastelands over time, due to natural causes or human interventions. Depletion in forest cover, therefore, has an important impact on socio-economic development and ecological balance. High population growth rate in Pakistan is one of the main causes for rapid deterioration of the physical environment and natural resource base. In view of this, it was felt necessary to carryout landuse studies focusing on mapping the past and present conditions and the extent of forests and rangelands using satellite remote sensing (SRS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies. The SRS and GIS technologies provide a possible means of monitoring and mapping the changes occurring in natural resources and the environment on a continuous basis. The riverine forests of Sindh mostly growing along the river Indus in the flood plains are spread over an area of 241,000 ha but are disappearing very rapidly. Construction of dams/barrages on the upper reaches of the river Indus for hydroelectric power and irrigation works have significantly reduced the discharge of fresh water into the lower Indus basin and as a result 100,000 acres of forests have disappeared. Furthermore, heavy floods that occurred in 1978, 1988, 1992 and 1997, altered the course of the River Indus in many places, especially in the lower reaches, this has also damaged the riverine forests of Sindh. An integrated approach involving analysis of SRS data from 1977 to 1998 and GIS technique have been used to evaluate the geographic extent and distribution of the riverine forests of Sindh and to monitor temporal changes in the forest cover between 1977 and 1990; 1990 and 1998; and 1977 and 1998. The integrated landuse forest cover maps have shown not only the temporal changes that occur in the riverine forest but also in the river Indus course between 22 years period.

Mangrove and halophytic plants occur along the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, south India and these plants have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Heavy metals are known to pose a potential threat to terrestrial and aquatic biota. However, little is known on the toxic levels of heavy metals found in mangrove and halophytic plants that are used in traditional medicine in India. To understand heavy metal toxicity, we investigated the bioconcentration factors (BCF) of heavy metals in leaves collected from eight mangroves and five halophytes in the protected Pichavaram mangroveforest reserve in Tamil Nadu State, south India. Data presented in this paper describe the impact of essential (Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn) and non-essential/environmentally toxic trace metals (Hg, Pb and Sn) in mangrove and halophytic medicinal plants. The concentrations of Pb among 13 plant species were higher than the normal range of contamination reported for plants. The average concentration of Hg in the halophytic plants (0.43+/-0.37 microg/g) was seven times higher than mangrove plants (0.06+/-0.03 microg/g) and it indicated pollutants from industrial sources affecting halophytes more than mangroves. PMID:18086510

Synthetic-aperture radar images of forest site near Manley Hot Springs (64[degree]N, 151[degree]W), Alaska, were collected between August 1991 and December 1991, day and night, every 3 days, at C-band frequency ([lambda] = 5.7 cm), vertical receive and transmit polarization, by the European Space Agency First Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1. During the same period, air and soil temperatures and dielectric and gravimetric moisture properties of the forest canopy and forest floor were monitored in three forest stands dominated, respectively, by black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). The calibrated ERS-1 radar backscatter values, [sigma][degree], of the forest stands are shown to exhibit a pronounced temporal pattern, with little separability between tree species. The largest change in [sigma][degree], a 3-dB decrease almost independent of tree species, is observed in early winter when the soil and vegetation freeze. In the summer, temporal fluctuations in [sigma][degree] are about 1--2 dB in magnitude, depending on tree species. Diurnal variations in [sigma][degree] are as large as 2 dB during fall freeze-up, and less than 1 dB in summer and winter. These temporal variations in radar backscatter from the forest are interpreted using the MIMICS radar backscatter model and the in situ surface observations as due to changes in the dielectric properties of the forest floor and forest canopy induced by precipitation (summer), drought (fall), and freezing (fall-winter) events. In winter, [sigma][degree] increases across the entire landscape, probably because of volume scattering from large depth hoar ice crystals forming in the snow pack.

Forest successional stage, an indicator of compositional turnover and structural development in forest stands, is a central factor in efforts to quantify productivity and carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat and species diversity in forests. Despite its importance, only recently have advances in remote sensing and computer processing provided researchers with the synoptic view necessary for landscape-scale mapping of successional change. This research reports on results from the first segment of a multi-part project to ascertain the rate and distribution of structural development and compositional turnover in the North Carolina Piedmont. The Piedmont study site was selected for hosting a diversity of forest community types and possessing a recent history characterized by dynamic land cover transitions. In this study, a Landsat time series stack (LTSS) from 1984-2011 is used at a tri-annual time step to quantify landscape-scale forest successional processes using temporal trajectory analysis rather than space-for-time substitutions. After controlling for phenological noise in the LTSS trajectory by downscaling a AVHRR/MODIS-derived phenological profile, relative change in spectral values, rather than absolute radiometric values, is used to assess characteristic temporal signatures in spectral space that map onto successional processes. Model validation from CVS and Duke forest plot data confirm the utility of fitting nonlinear regression to a Tasseled Cap Angle time series as a means to monitor regeneration rates for disturbed forests that return to a closed canopy within the period. While results fail to find a consistent change pattern across the study site, spatial autocorrelation in summer increment NDVI change vectors indicate clustering of successional processes characterized by high rates of evergreen establishment in disturbed areas and a transition from evergreen to deciduous communities in closed-canopy forests.

The importance of mangroveforests in carbon sequestration and coastal protection has been widely acknowledged. Large-scale damage of these forests, caused by hurricanes or clear felling, can enhance vulnerability to erosion, subsidence and rapid carbon losses. However, it is unclear how small-scale logging might impact on mangrove functions and services. We experimentally investigated the impact of small-scale tree removal on surface elevation and carbon dynamics in a mangroveforest at Gazi bay, Kenya. The trees in five plots of a Rhizophora mucronata (Lam.) forest were first girdled and then cut. Another set of five plots at the same site served as controls. Treatment induced significant, rapid subsidence (-32.1±8.4 mm yr-1 compared with surface elevation changes of +4.2±1.4 mm yr-1 in controls). Subsidence in treated plots was likely due to collapse and decomposition of dying roots and sediment compaction as evidenced from increased sediment bulk density. Sediment effluxes of CO2 and CH4 increased significantly, especially their heterotrophic component, suggesting enhanced organic matter decomposition. Estimates of total excess fluxes from treated compared with control plots were 25.3±7.4 tCO2 ha-1 yr-1 (using surface carbon efflux) and 35.6±76.9 tCO2 ha-1 yr-1 (using surface elevation losses and sediment properties). Whilst such losses might not be permanent (provided cut areas recover), observed rapid subsidence and enhanced decomposition of soil sediment organic matter caused by small-scale harvesting offers important lessons for mangrove management. In particular mangrove managers need to carefully consider the trade-offs between extracting mangrove wood and losing other mangrove services, particularly shoreline stabilization, coastal protection and carbon storage. PMID:25244646

The importance of mangroveforests in carbon sequestration and coastal protection has been widely acknowledged. Large-scale damage of these forests, caused by hurricanes or clear felling, can enhance vulnerability to erosion, subsidence and rapid carbon losses. However, it is unclear how small-scale logging might impact on mangrove functions and services. We experimentally investigated the impact of small-scale tree removal on surface elevation and carbon dynamics in a mangroveforest at Gazi bay, Kenya. The trees in five plots of a Rhizophora mucronata (Lam.) forest were first girdled and then cut. Another set of five plots at the same site served as controls. Treatment induced significant, rapid subsidence (?32.1±8.4 mm yr?1 compared with surface elevation changes of +4.2±1.4 mm yr?1 in controls). Subsidence in treated plots was likely due to collapse and decomposition of dying roots and sediment compaction as evidenced from increased sediment bulk density. Sediment effluxes of CO2 and CH4 increased significantly, especially their heterotrophic component, suggesting enhanced organic matter decomposition. Estimates of total excess fluxes from treated compared with control plots were 25.3±7.4 tCO2 ha?1 yr?1 (using surface carbon efflux) and 35.6±76.9 tCO2 ha?1 yr?1 (using surface elevation losses and sediment properties). Whilst such losses might not be permanent (provided cut areas recover), observed rapid subsidence and enhanced decomposition of soil sediment organic matter caused by small-scale harvesting offers important lessons for mangrove management. In particular mangrove managers need to carefully consider the trade-offs between extracting mangrove wood and losing other mangrove services, particularly shoreline stabilization, coastal protection and carbon storage. PMID:25244646

Satellite remote sensing monitoring of forest fire-points is a routine operation of weather service. By taking advantage of remote sensing information's characteristics such as relatively fixed resolution, little geometric distortion and quite stable data quality, the thesis establishes Henan Satellite Remote Sensing Forest Fire-points Automatic Monitoring System in the way of automatic geography registration based on gray correlation and control point database, which can realize automation of the whole process including automatic monitoring,automatic geography registration,automatic fire-points monitoring,automatic production releasing and cell phone short-message notice of fire-points warning information. The system could greatly improve service efficiency. Automatic registration of remote sensing information based on gray correlation and control point database features simpleness and quickness. Through automatic geography registration testing of sunny EOS/MODIS data (at daytime and nightime) during 18 periods from February 2008 to May 2008 in Henan Province with average error of registration is 0.637 pixels at daytime and 0.319 at nighttime, it can fully meet ordinary operation requirements. Fire-point identification and fire-point area estimate method in the system can be applied to monitoring different fires at daytime and at nighttime. Besides, it can automatically screen effective fire-points according to background geographic information, and thus it can improve monitoring accuracy.

As an important city in the southern part of Chu Chiang Delta, Zhuhai is one of the four special economic zones which are opening up to the outside at the earliest in China. With pure and fresh air and trees shading the street, Zhuhai is a famous beach port city which is near the mountain and by the sea. On the basis of Garden City, the government of Zhuhai decides to build National Forest City in 2011, which firstly should understand the situation of greenbelt in Zhuhai in short term. Traditional methods of greenbelt investigation adopt the combination of field surveying and statistics, whose efficiency is low and results are not much objective because of artificial influence. With the adventure of the information technology such as remote sensing to earth observation, especially the launch of many remote sensing satellites with high resolution for the past few years, kinds of urban greenbelt information extraction can be carried out by using remote sensing technology; and dynamic monitoring to spatial pattern evolvement of forest and greenbelt in Zhuhai can be achieved by the combination of remote sensing and GIS technology. Taking Landsat5 TM data in 1995, Landsat7 ETM+ data in 2002, CCD and HR data of CBERS-02B in 2009 as main information source, this research firstly makes remote sensing monitoring to dynamic change of forest and greenbelt in Zhuhai by using the combination of vegetation coverage index and three different information extraction methods, then does a driving force analysis to the dynamic change results in 3 months. The results show: the forest area in Zhuhai shows decreasing tendency from 1995 to 2002, increasing tendency from 2002 to 2009; overall, the forest area show a small diminution tendency from 1995 to 2009. Through the comparison to natural and artificial driving force, the artificial driving force is the leading factor to the change of forest and greenbelt in Zhuhai. The research results provide a timely and reliable scientific basis for the Zhuhai Government in building National Forest City. Keywords: forest and greenbelt; remote sensing; dynamic monitoring; driving force; vegetation coverage

Forests are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such, monitoringforest condition and detecting temporal changes therein remain critical to sound public and private forestland management. The National Parks Service's Vital Signs monitoring program collects information on many forest health indicators, including species richness, cover by exotics, browse pressure, and forest regeneration. We applied a mixed-model approach to partition variability in data for 30 forest health indicators collected from several national parks in the eastern United States. We then used the estimated variance components in a simulation model to evaluate trend detection capabilities for each indicator. We investigated the extent to which the following factors affected ability to detect trends: (a) sample design: using simple panel versus connected panel design, (b) effect size: increasing trend magnitude, (c) sample size: varying the number of plots sampled each year, and (d) stratified sampling: post-stratifying plots into vegetation domains. Statistical power varied among indicators; however, indicators that measured the proportion of a total yielded higher power when compared to indicators that measured absolute or average values. In addition, the total variability for an indicator appeared to influence power to detect temporal trends more than how total variance was partitioned among spatial and temporal sources. Based on these analyses and the monitoring objectives of the Vital Signs program, the current sampling design is likely overly intensive for detecting a 5 % trend·year-1 for all indicators and is appropriate for detecting a 1 % trend·year-1 in most indicators.

A Working Ring Test (WRT) was organised in the framework of the EU Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 ("Forest Focus") and of the UN/ECE Program "ICP Forests" to evaluate the overall performance of the laboratories monitoring atmospheric deposition and soil solution in European Forests. Seven natural samples of atmospheric deposition and soil solutions and 5 synthetic solutions were distributed to 52 laboratories, which analysed them using their routine methods. Thirteen variables are considered in this paper: pH, conductivity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, sulfate, nitrate, chloride, total alkalinity, total dissolved nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon. For each variable, the relative standard deviation of the results was evaluated, after outlier rejection, to estimate the analytical error of the measurements. The results are evaluated considering the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) procedure included in the ICP Forestsmonitoring manual: consistency check of the data and use of control charts and internal standards. A Data Quality Objective (DQO) is defined for each of the variables and the number of data meeting the DQOs are discussed in relation to the QA/QC procedures adopted. Although 38% of the results did not meet the DQO, the laboratories adopting QA/QC procedures produced a larger proportion of results meeting the objective and a consistent part of the outliers could be detected a posteriori checking analyses consistence. PMID:19557224

This study investigated changes in landings of all prawns, white prawns (mainly Penaeus merguiensis), mangrove extent, rainfall and the area of shallow water in western peninsular Malaysia. The most important state for both the landings of all prawns and white prawns was Perak where about 50% of all prawns and 35% of white prawns were landed. This is also the state with the largest, and most stable, extent of mangroveforest reserve (40?000 ha) and the largest area of shallow water (<5 m deep). Juvenile prawns from Perak may contribute to the landings of the nearby, adjacent states of Penang and Selangor, where the second highest landings for white prawns and total prawns, respectively, were found. The area of shallow water accounted for the greatest proportion of variation in landings of both all prawns and white prawns, and was the most significant variable fitted to multiple regressions of landings and coastal attributes (area of shallow water, mangrove area, length of coastline). Although there was a significant linear relationship between the landings of total prawns and mangrove area in both the 1980s and 1990s, this was not the case for the mangrove-dependent white prawns where a significant relationship was found only for the 1990s. Furthermore, landings of all prawns and white prawns in Selangor and Johor, where large losses of mangroveforest reserve have been recorded, appear to have been maintained or increased in the 1990s. The lack of a clear relationship between mangrove loss and prawn landings may be due to the migration of prawns from adjacent areas or that other attributes of mangroves, such as the length of mangrove-water interface, may be more important for the growth and survival of prawn populations than total area of mangroves.

Although such ecosystems are fragile, this study shows that the anthropogenic damages inflicted on the mangroveforests of West Africa can be reversed over a relatively short time period if environmental conditions are favorable. The mangrove ecosystem of the microtidal Somone Estuary, Senegal, has undergone extreme changes during the last century. The area occupied by mangroveforest was estimated with a diachronic study by GIS for the period 1946-2006. Between 1946 and 1978, 85% of the area was progressively replaced by unvegetated mudflats in the intertidal zones and by barren area in the supratidal zones. Until 1990, this was mainly a result of traditional wood harvesting. The impact was exacerbated by the closing off of the estuary to the sea (1967-1969 and 1987) and by an extended drought (1970 onwards), which resulted in a lack of renewal of water, hypersalinization and acidification. The main factors controlling mangrove evolution in the Somone ecosystem, however, are anthropogenic. Until 1990, traditional wood cutting (for wood and oyster harvesting) was practiced by the local population. Between 1978 and 1989, a small area occupied by the mangroves was stabilized. Since 1992, a modification of mangrove logging and a new reforestation policy resulted in an exponential increase of mangrove area progressively replacing intertidal mudflats. Such success in the restoration of the ecosystem reforestation is supported by favorable environmental conditions: tidal flooding, groundwater influence, rainfall during the wet season, low net accretion rate of about 0.2-0.3 cm year -1, and a ban on the cutting of mangrove wood. The rate of mangrove loss from 1946 to 1978 was 44,000 m 2 year -1, but this has been offset by restoration efforts resulting in an increase in mangrove area from 1992 to 2006 of 63,000 m 2 year -1.

Development of a regional lichen gradient model from community data is a powerful tool to derive lichen indexes of response to environmental factors for large-scale and long-term monitoring of forest ecosystems. The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Pro...

height, structure, biomass and biodiversity. This would lead to improvements in biomass estimationReport of the First GEO ForestMonitoring Symposium 4-7 November 2008, Foz do IguaÃ§u, Brazil Edited of globally consistent map products for forests is significantly limiting efforts to understand trends

Forest structural content of hypserspectral imagery was evaluated over oak-hickory forests within the Ozark National Forest in north-central Arkansas, USA, and evaluated for prediction of basal area. A LIDAR-assisted assessment of the structural information contained in the hyperspectral imagery was used in a machine learning process to define the spectral derivatives that would best predict biophysical variables. NASA Hyperion hyperspectral satellite derivatives were used to develop rule sets for predicting normalized height percentile (NHP) surfaces from a Leica Geosystems ALS50 small footprint LIDAR point cloud. The most successful predictors of forest structure were subsequently tested in rule sets to predict basal area measured in situ. Selected hyperspectral indices and bands from the minimum noise fraction transformation (MNF) were converted to rule sets using the Cubist machine learning decision tree. The machine learning phase was able to predict the LIDAR normalized height percentiles with accuracies between 2.08--3.69 meters based on the root mean squared error. The results indicate the hyperspectral data contains valuable information that can predict the canopy and in particular understory characteristics of the forest. The prediction of the lowest NHP layer (representing understory) consistently resulted in the highest accuracy of 2.08 meters. The results suggest, at the 30 x 30 m measurement scale, that orbital hyperspectral imagery can be used as a first step in the monitoring of forest structural variables of interest. Continued development of rapidly calibrated biophysical remote sensing techniques will allow timely and accurate assessment of forest conditions across large geographic regions.

We compared the efficacy of 400-m line transects and sets of three point counts at detecting avian richness and abundance in bottomland hardwood forests and intensively managed cottonwood (Populus deltoides) plantations within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. We detected more species and more individuals on line transects than on three point counts during 218 paired surveys conducted between 24 March and 3 June, 1996 and 1997. Line transects also yielded more birds per unit of time, even though point counts yielded higher estimates of relative bird density. In structurally more-complex bottomland hardwood forests, we detected more species and individuals on line transects, but in more-open cottonwood plantations, transects surpassed point counts only at detecting species within 50 m of the observer. Species richness and total abundance of Nearctic-Neotropical migrants and temperate migrants were greater on line transects within bottomland hardwood forests. Within cottonwood plantations, however, only species richness of Nearctic-Neotropical migrants and total abundance of temperate migrants were greater on line transects. Because we compared survey techniques using the same observer, within the same forest stand on a given day, we assumed that the technique yielding greater estimates of avian species richness and total abundance per unit of effort is superior. Thus, for monitoring migration within hardwood forests of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, we recommend using line transects instead of point counts.

Litter consumption by grapsid crabs enhances detritus turnover and nutrient cycling in mangrove ecosystems. However, unlike tropical mangroves, subtropical mangroves are subjected to pronounced seasonal changes in weather; particularly, low winter temperatures may slow down important ecological processes such as litter decay. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of temperature (low winter and high summer temperatures) on leaf litter consumption by two grapsid crabs ( Parasesarma pictum and Helice leachi) in a subtropical mangroveforest of Okinawa Island, south Japan. We also tested whether leaf litter consumption between the low winter and summer temperatures could be affected by leaf species type and quality. A leaf-tethering technique was used to conduct field feeding experiments in the high and low intertidal sites of the mangroves using leaves of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Kandelia obovata. Leaves of different stages of decay: fresh (green), yellow, brown, two and four weeks were used. Results showed significant differences in leaf consumption between seasons, leaf species and shore heights. More leaves were consumed during summer than winter. In both seasons and shore heights, crabs consumed significantly more leaves of K. obovata than B. gymnorrhiza. Consumption was higher in the high than low intertidal mangrove. Although crabs preferred aged leaves in summer, during the winter season they consumed significantly more green leaves of K. obovata than yellow and brown leaves of B. gymnorrhiza. The slow litter processing during winter was consistent with lower carbon contents and lower C/N ratios in the surface sediments, signifying low input of organic matter. Results of this study suggest that temperature affects mangrove litter processing in Oura Bay mangroves, and consequently the amounts of organic matter and nutrients conserved inside subtropical mangrove sediments.

The benthic fauna in mangroveforests is usually dominated by burrowing sesarmid (Grapsidae) and fiddler crabs (Ocypodidae). They are herbivores that retain, bury, macerate and ingest litter and microalgal mats. Most species within these two groups actively dig and maintain burrows in the sediment as a refuge from predation and environmental extremes. Based on the current knowledge on the biology and ecology of these crabs, it seems obvious that their activities have considerable impact on ecosystem functioning. However, no convincing conceptual framework has yet been defined into which the role of these crabs can be identified and characterized. The attributes by which these abundant animals affect the microbial and biogeochemical functional diversity fit well into the concept of ecosystem engineering. The conceptualization of mangrove benthic communities within this framework is distinguished and documented by examples provided from the most recent literature on mangrove ecosystem functioning. It appears that the features and processes driving the engineering effects on distribution and activity of associated organisms operate differently for sesarmid and fiddler crabs. The most obvious and well-documented difference between engineering effects of the two types of crab seems to be associated with foraging. More attention must be devoted in the future to elucidate engineering aspects related to crab burrows in mangrove environments. Particularly comparative work on the burrow-dwelling life styles of the two types of crab is needed.

Deforestation and fragmentation are important concerns in managing and conserving tropical forests and have global significance. In the Indian context, in the last one century, the forests have undergone significant changes due to several policies undertaken by government as well as increased population pressure. The present study has brought out spatiotemporal changes in forest cover and variation in forest type in the state of Odisha (Orissa), India, during the last 75 years period. The mapping for the period of 1924-1935, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2010 indicates that the forest cover accounts for 81,785.6 km(2) (52.5 %), 56,661.1 km(2) (36.4 %), 51,642.3 km(2) (33.2 %), 49,773 km(2) (32 %) and 48,669.4 km(2) (31.3 %) of the study area, respectively. The study found the net forest cover decline as 40.5 % of the total forest and mean annual rate of deforestation as 0.69 % year(-1) during 1935 to 2010. There is a decline in annual rate of deforestation during 1995 to 2010 which was estimated as 0.15 %. Forest type-wise quantitative loss of forest cover reveals large scale deforestation of dry deciduous forests. The landscape analysis shows that the number of forest patches (per 1,000) are 2.463 in 1935, 10.390 in 1975, 11.899 in 1985, 12.193 in 1995 and 15.102 in 2010, which indicates high anthropogenic pressure on the forests. The mean patch size (km(2)) of forest decreased from 33.2 in 1935 to 5.5 in 1975 and reached to 3.2 by 2010. The study demonstrated that monitoring of long term forest changes, quantitative loss of forest types and landscape metrics provides critical inputs for management of forest resources. PMID:22996824

An automated laser rangefinding instrument was developed to characterize overstorey and understorey vegetation dynamics over time. Design criteria were based on information needs within the statewide forestmonitoring program in Victoria, Australia. The ground-based monitoring instrument captures the key vegetation structural information needed to overcome ambiguity in the estimation of forest Leaf Area Index (LAI) from satellite sensors. The scanning lidar instrument was developed primarily from low cost, commercially accessible components. While the 635 nm wavelength lidar is not ideally suited to vegetation studies, there was an acceptable trade-off between cost and performance. Tests demonstrated reliable range estimates to live foliage up to a distance of 60 m during night-time operation. Given the instrument's scan angle of 57.5 degrees zenith, the instrument is an effective tool for monitoring LAI in forest canopies up to a height of 30 m. An 18 month field trial of three co-located instruments showed consistent seasonal trends and mean LAI of between 1.32 to 1.56 and a temporal LAI variation of 8 to 17% relative to the mean. PMID:25196006

An automated laser rangefinding instrument was developed to characterize overstorey and understorey vegetation dynamics over time. Design criteria were based on information needs within the statewide forestmonitoring program in Victoria, Australia. The ground-based monitoring instrument captures the key vegetation structural information needed to overcome ambiguity in the estimation of forest Leaf Area Index (LAI) from satellite sensors. The scanning lidar instrument was developed primarily from low cost, commercially accessible components. While the 635 nm wavelength lidar is not ideally suited to vegetation studies, there was an acceptable trade-off between cost and performance. Tests demonstrated reliable range estimates to live foliage up to a distance of 60 m during night-time operation. Given the instrument's scan angle of 57.5 degrees zenith, the instrument is an effective tool for monitoring LAI in forest canopies up to a height of 30 m. An 18 month field trial of three co-located instruments showed consistent seasonal trends and mean LAI of between 1.32 to 1.56 and a temporal LAI variation of 8 to 17% relative to the mean. PMID:25196006

NASA photographs taken from low Earth orbit can provide information relevant to conservation biology. This data source is now more accessible due to improvements in digitizing technology, Internet file transfer, and availability of image processing software. We present three examples of conservation-related projects that benefited from using orbital photographs. (1) A time series of photographs from the Space Shuttle showing wetland conversion in Japan was used as a tool for communicating about the impacts of tidal flat loss. Real-time communication with astronauts about a newsworthy event resulted in acquiring current imagery. These images and the availability of other high resolution digital images from NASA provided timely public information on the observed changes. (2) A Space Shuttle photograph of Chobe National Park in Botswana was digitally classified and analyzed to identify the locations of elephant-impacted woodland. Field validation later confirmed that areas identified on the image showed evidence of elephant impacts. (3) A summary map from intensive field surveys of seagrasses in Shoalwater Bay, Australia was used as reference data for a supervised classification of a digitized photograph taken from orbit. The classification was able to distinguish seagrasses, sediments and mangroves with accuracy approximating that in studies using other satellite remote sensing data. Orbital photographs are in the public domain and the database of nearly 400,000 photographs from the late 1960s to the present is available at a single searchable location on the Internet. These photographs can be used by conservation biologists for general information about the landscape and in quantitative applications.

Rates of sediment accumulation and organic matter decomposition in mangroveforests of different age were examined at the Matang MangroveForest Reserve in peninsular Malaysia. These data were used with previous findings to construct a first-order mass balance of carbon to determine whether the ecosystem is net heterotrophic or autotrophic, and to estimate land–ocean–atmosphere exchange. Measurements of various carbon and

Marine ecosystems are experiencing unprecedented degradation rates higher than any other ecosystem on the planet, which in some instances are up to 4 times those of rainforests. Mangrove ecosystems have especially been impacted by compounded anthropogenic pressures leading to significant cover reductions of between 35 and 50% (equivalent to 1-2% loss pa) for the last half century. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that peri-urban mangroves suffering from compounded and intense pressures may be experiencing higher degradation rates than the global mean (and/or national mean for Kenya) using Mombasa mangroves (comprising Tudor and Mwache creeks) as a case study. Stratified sampling was used to sample along 22 and 10 belt transects in Mwache and Tudor respectively, set to capture stand heterogeneity in terms of species composition and structure in addition to perceived human pressure gradients using proximity to human habitations as a proxy. We acquired SPOT (HRV/ HRVIR/ HRS) images of April 1994, May 2000 and January 2009 and a vector mangrove map of 1992 at a scale of 1:50 000 for cover change and species composition analysis. Results from image classification of the 2009 image had 80.23% overall accuracy and Cohen's kappa of 0.77, thus proving satisfactory for use in this context. Structural data indicate that complexity index (CI) which captures stand structural development was higher in Mwache at 1.80 compared to Tudor at 1.71. From cover change data, Tudor lost 86.9% of the forest between 1992 and 2009, compared to Mwache at 45.4%, representing very high hitherto undocumented degradation rates of 5.1 and 2.7% pa, respectively. These unprecedentedly high degradation rates, which far exceed not only the national mean (for Kenya of 0.7% pa) but the global mean as well, strongly suggest that these mangroves are highly threatened due to compounded pressures. Strengthening of governance regimes through enforcement and compliance to halt illegal wood extraction, improvement of land-use practices upstream to reduce soil erosion, restoration in areas where natural regeneration has been impaired, provision of alternative energy sources/building materials and a complete moratorium on wood extraction especially in Tudor Creek to allow recovery are some of the suggested management interventions.

Forest threats across the US have become increasingly evident in recent years. These include regionally extensive disturbances (e.g., from drought, bark beetle outbreaks, and wildfires) that can occur across multiyear durations and result in extensive forest mortality. In addition, forests can be subject to ephemeral, sometimes yearly defoliation from various insects and types of storm damage. After prolonged severe disturbance, signs of forest recovery can vary in terms of satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values. The increased extent and threat of forest disturbances in part led to the enactment of the 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which mandated that a national forest threat Early Warning System (EWS) be deployed. In response, the US Forest Service collaborated with NASA, DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the USGS Eros Data Center to build the near real time ForWarn forest threat EWS for monitoring regionally evident forest disturbances, starting on-line operations in 2010. Given the diversity of disturbance types, severities, and durations, ForWarn employs multiple historical baselines used with current NDVI to derive a suite of six nationwide 'weekly' forest change products. ForWarn uses daily 232 meter MODIS Aqua and Terra satellite NDVI data, including MOD13 products for deriving historical baseline NDVIs and eMODIS products for compiling current NDVI. Separately pre-processing the current and historical NDVIs, the Time Series Product Tool and the Phenological Parameters Estimation Tool are used to temporally reduce noise, fuse, and aggregate MODIS NDVIs into 24 day composites refreshed every 8 days with 46 dates of forest change products per year. The 24 day compositing interval typically enables new disturbances to be detected, while minimizing the frequency of residual atmospheric contamination. ForWarn's three standard forest change products compare current NDVI to that from the previous year, previous 3 years, and all previous years since 2000. Other forest change products added in 2013 include one for quicker disturbance detection and two others that adjust for seasonal fluctuations in normal vegetation phenology. This product suite and ForWarn's geospatial data viewer allow end users to view and assess disturbance dynamics for many regionally evident biotic and abiotic forest disturbances throughout a given current year. ForWarn's change products are also being used for forest change trend analysis and for developing regional forest overstory mortality products. They are used to alert forest health specialists about new regional forest disturbances. Such alerts also typically consider available Landsat, aerial, and ground data as well as communications with forest health specialists and previous experience. ForWarn products have been used to detect and track many types of regional disturbances for multiple forest types, including defoliation from caterpillars and severe storms, as well as mortality from both biotic and abiotic agents (e.g., bark beetles, drought, fire, anthropogenic clearing). ForWarn provides forest change products that could be combined with other geospatial data on forest biomass to help assess forest disturbance carbon impacts within the conterminous US.

Forest resource is the main body of ecosystem on the earth land which is indispensable regenerated resource in improving the entironment and boosting the quality of habitation At present with rapid development of society and economy the grim challenge has to be faced with because of decrease of forest resource and gradually aggravation of entironment Application of earth observation technology to monitoring the dynamic change of forest resource in Loess Plateau with quite fragile zoology and badly erosive soil therefore has increasingly important significance in developing Chinese national economy reserving zoology and forecasting the change of world environment This study applies remote sensing technology combined with Markov process to monitor and forecast the dynamic change of forest resource in Chinese Loess Plateau At first according to the dynamic change maps of the forest resource from remote sensing data in three different periods--1978 cent1987 and 2000 the transitions among the forest resource types in the Daning County --- a key pilot area of the Three North Protection Forest Project in Chinese Loess Plateau are acquired by combining the different remote sensing information sources during those different periods Then the transition probability matrices at two primary states 1978 and 1987 are established easily Based on the transition probability matrices we can simulate and forecast the forest dynamic transformation pattern and the forest-transforming tendency in the future periods The results of the

Understanding the consequences of the declining global cover of mangroves due to anthropogenic disturbance necessitates consideration of how mangrove-derived nutrients contribute to threatened coral reef systems. We sampled potential sources of organic matter and a suite of sessi...

matter; Redox conditions; New Caledonia #12;1. Introduction Mangroveforests play a key role. These forests are highly productive, with a NPP estimated to ~ 218 Â± 72 Tg C a- 1 ( [Bouillon et al., 2008 ecosystems, disappearing worldwide at the rate of 1 to 2% per year, as a result of over

Deadwood is one of the four elements taken into account in this review of indicators and field methods and is often considered as a key indicator of forest biodiversity. We have analysed the main types of surveys and have realised how greatly the needs and constraints used to monitor deadwood can vary among them. For instance, classical National Forest Inventories usually tend to avoid time-consuming collecting methods. In the wide variety of existing definitions of deadwood, such inventories require simple and clear definitions, especially in terms of quantified thresholds. Thus, deadwood is properly described by characterising several components, such as snags, logs, stumps, branches and fine woody debris. Deadwood sampling methods alter depending on the different components and dimensions considered (standing dead trees, lying dead trees and branches, etc. assessed quantitatively). Attributes such as tree species and stage of decay are used mainly to qualify the deadwood components. The deadwood volume estimations are usually based on classical approaches already applied to living or felled trees: volume equations and/or formulas giving the volumes of common geometric solids. The purpose of this paper is to focus on different deadwood assessment techniques and to provide the information necessary to identify the most relevant methods for collecting deadwood data. The latter is used to build indicators that characterise the evolution of forest biodiversity at the scale of large forest territories. PMID:19415512

Sensitivity of radar backscatter to the dielectric and geometric character of forested regions suggests significant changes in backscatter are expected with season due to freezing temperatures, snow, wind, leaf fall, and drought. The first European Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1, offers a unique opportunity to monitor a complete seasonal cycle for the Alaskan taiga forest ecosystem with synthetic aperture radar. During the 3-day repeat Commissioning Phase of ERS-1, from August 1991to December 1991, ERS-1 SAR data were collected in the region of Manley Hot Springs, Alaska, along the Tanana River, west of Fairbanks. In parallel with the SAR data collection, meteorological data from three weather stations positioned in three forest stands were collected continuously along with in situ measurements of the dielectric and moisture properties of the canopy and of ground cover which were collected during each overflight. The in situ data were collected in floodplain forest stands dominated by balsam poplar, white spruce, and black spruce. These results from the Commissioning Phase as well as preliminary results from the 35-day Repeat Phase will be presented.

Community Based Mangrove Management (CBMM) has been advocated by both academia and governing agencies as a viable alternative for sustainably managing the ecologically important mangroveforests which are disappearing rapidly worldwide. Drawing insights from diverse sustainability issues, capabilities and performances of worldwide CBMM initiatives were examined in this paper. Higher numbers of CBMM initiatives were reported from South Asia and lesser from South America and Africa. Identification of the causes of degradation at a site and use-specific zonal replantations with respect to species associations were identified as major criteria of ecological sustainability. Regarding economic sustainability, transformation of potential uses of mangroves known by local communities into actual ones was found to be necessary. Proper disbursement of accrued benefits among community members irrespective of their socio-cultural status is also a major concern. Restructuring of CBMM institutions by ensuring participation of subsistence based users in decision-making and resource sharing have been identified as a prime determinant of institutional sustainability. However, limited number of studies on socio-political and institutional aspects as well as impacts of globalization induced socio-cultural transformations of communities on CBMM had been actually found. More focused researches on these aspects had been recommended for better community management of these highly stressed forests. PMID:22595074

The services of ecosystem are critical to human existence and prosperity, providing necessary ecological products for human production and life as well as indispensable natural conditions for life system. The Natural Mangrove Reserve in Zhangjiang River Estuary is one of the most important National Natural Mangrove Reserve in China. Its environment has been degrading during the past decades for people neglecting the ecosystem services function value which is hard to currency turn. Thus, it is necessary to monitor and assess the Mangrove Reserve's dynamics, both to gain a better understanding of their basic biology and to help guide conservation and restoration efforts. Using Landsat TM/ETM+ Satellite data acquired in 1989, 1992, 1998, 2001 and an Aster image from the year 2003, the land use of the Reserve and its environment were extracted adopting the supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification Algorithm. The changes of land use and ecosystem services value were analyzed using Costanza's method of evaluating the global ecosystem service values. The total value change of ecosystem services in the study area per year are 2945.95×10 4, 2861.74×10 4, 2904.05×10 4, 2794.67×10 4, 2730.82×10 4$ respectively during the four periods (1989-1992, 1992-1998, 1998-2001, 2001-2003). The ecosystem services value change has a close relationship with W&B, population, build-up and forest. The results indicate that the ecosystem services value in the study area has been constantly deteriorating due to the human activities imposed on it, which is highly associated with the local expanding of build-up and brackish water fishponds all the while. And the downward trend of the ecosystem services value has become even more acute, with the development of the local economy.

The accurate quantification of forest 3-D structure is of great importance for studies of the global carbon cycle and biodiversity. These studies are especially relevant in Africa, where deforestation rates are high and the lack of background data is great. Mangroveforests are ecologically significant and it is important to measure mangrove canopy heights and biomass. The objectives of this study are to estimate: 1. The total area, 2. Canopy height distributions and 3. Aboveground biomass of mangroveforests in Africa. To derive mangrove 3-D structure and biomass maps, we used a combination of mangrove maps derived from Landsat ETM+, LiDAR canopy height estimates from ICEsat/GLAS (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite/Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) and elevation data from SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) for the African continent. More specifically, we extracted mangroveforest areas on the SRTM DEM using Landsat based landcover maps. The LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) measurements from the large footprint GLAS sensor were used to derive local estimates of canopy height and calibrate the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data from SRTM. We then applied allometric equations relating canopy height to biomass in order to estimate above ground biomass (AGB) from the canopy height product. The total mangrove area of Africa was estimated to be 25 960 square kilometers with 83% accuracy. The largest mangrove areas and greatest total biomass was 29 found in Nigeria covering 8 573 km2 with 132 x10(exp 6) Mg AGB. Canopy height across Africa was estimated with an overall root mean square error of 3.55 m. This error also includes the impact of using sensors with different resolutions and geolocation error which make comparison between measurements sensitive to canopy heterogeneities. This study provides the first systematic estimates of mangrove area, height and biomass in Africa. Our results showed that the combination of ICEsat/GLAS and SRTM data is well suited for vegetation 3-D mapping on a continental scale.

Mangroveforests are fragile coastal ecosystems and could be one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to global climate change and sea-level rise. These forests are formed in the fringe of land and ocean and characterized by the regular inundation of tidal water. Because of the changes in sea-level and dynamic energy system in the transition zone between land and sea due to climate change, erosion in different coastal zones of the world could be accelerated. The objective of this study is to find out the nature and pattern of erosion that can threaten mangroveforest ecosystems. The study area is located in Sundarbans mangrove, the largest continuous mangroveforest in the world. The study utilized time-series data of Landsat Multi-spectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) during 1970s to 2010s. Time-series change analysis was done along the selected transect lines. The erosion rates in the Sundarbans Mangrove are variable and it is very difficult to get a conclusive result from the analysis of those points whether the erosion rate has been accelerated in the recent past. The average rates of erosion for the eastern and western parts are 14 m/year and 15 m/year respectively obtained form the ten selected transect lines. It is unclear that how much coastal erosion is linked to the global warming and sea-level rise or whether any other associated factors such as geological and anthropogenic induced land subsidence, changes in sediment supply or other local factors are driving these changes. Further studies should be conducted in different mangrove ecosystems of the world to explore whether similar patterns of coastal erosion are visible there.

Wave energy and storm surges threaten coastal ecology and nearshore infrastructures. Although coastal structures are conventionally constructed to dampen the wave energy, they introduce tremendous damage to the ecology of the coast. To minimize environmental impact, ecofriendly coastal protection schemes should be introduced. In this paper, we discuss an example of an innovative mangrove rehabilitation attempt to restore the endangered mangroves on Carey Island, Malaysia. A submerged detached breakwater system was constructed to dampen the energy of wave and trap the sediments behind the structure. Further, a large number of mangrove seedlings were planted using different techniques. Further, we assess the possibility of success for a future mangrove rehabilitation project at the site in the context of sedimentology, bathymetry, and hydrogeochemistry. The assessment showed an increase in the amount of silt and clay, and the seabed was noticeably elevated. The nutrient concentration, the pH value, and the salinity index demonstrate that the site is conducive in establishing mangrove seedlings. As a result, we conclude that the site is now ready for attempts to rehabilitate the lost mangroveforest. PMID:25097894

Concentrations of six heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in sediments and fine roots, thick roots, branches, and leaves of six mangrove plant species collected from the Futian mangroveforest, South China were measured. The results show that both the sediments and plants in Futian mangrove ecosystem are moderately contaminated by heavy metals, with the main contaminants being Zn and Cu. All investigated metals showed very similar distribution patterns in the sediments, implying that they had the same anthropogenic source(s). High accumulations of the heavy metals were observed in the root tissues, especially the fine roots, and much lower concentrations in the other organs. This indicates that the roots strongly immobilize the heavy metals and (hence) that mangrove plants possess mechanisms that limit the upward transport of heavy metals and exclude them from sensitive tissues. The growth performance of propagules and 6-month-old seedlings of Bruguiera gymnorhiza in the presence of contaminating Cu and Cd was also examined. The results show that this plant is not sufficiently sensitive to heavy metals after its propagule stage for its regeneration and growth to be significantly affected by heavy metal contamination in the Futian mangrove ecosystem. However, older mangrove seedlings appeared to be more metal-tolerant than the younger seedlings due to their more efficient exclusion mechanism. Thus, the effects of metal contamination on young seedlings should be assessed when evaluating the risks posed by heavy metals in an ecosystem. PMID:23203819

Wave energy and storm surges threaten coastal ecology and nearshore infrastructures. Although coastal structures are conventionally constructed to dampen the wave energy, they introduce tremendous damage to the ecology of the coast. To minimize environmental impact, ecofriendly coastal protection schemes should be introduced. In this paper, we discuss an example of an innovative mangrove rehabilitation attempt to restore the endangered mangroves on Carey Island, Malaysia. A submerged detached breakwater system was constructed to dampen the energy of wave and trap the sediments behind the structure. Further, a large number of mangrove seedlings were planted using different techniques. Further, we assess the possibility of success for a future mangrove rehabilitation project at the site in the context of sedimentology, bathymetry, and hydrogeochemistry. The assessment showed an increase in the amount of silt and clay, and the seabed was noticeably elevated. The nutrient concentration, the pH value, and the salinity index demonstrate that the site is conducive in establishing mangrove seedlings. As a result, we conclude that the site is now ready for attempts to rehabilitate the lost mangroveforest. PMID:25097894

This document describes the 1991 progress of the Channel Islands National Park Kelp ForestMonitoring Project. Population dynamics of 68 indicator species of algae, fish, and invertebrates were measured at 16 permanent transect sites in 1991 by divers using SCUBA and surface-supply-air. Survey dives were conducted at seven other locations for comparisons and general information. In 1991, nine sites had healthy kelp forests. Five others had some kelp growing on or near the transect, but were dominated somewhat by sea urchins. White sea urchins were present in moderate to high numbers at four sites with declines at two sites and an increase at one. Juvenile fish recruitment was down in 1991; however, young-of-year rockfish were numerous at San Miguel Island and juvenile sheepland and garibaldi were common at Santa Barbra and Anacapa Islands. Abalone recruitment modules proved effective at concentrating juveniles of several species. This year was a poor recruitment year for abalone.

The 1994 results of the Channel Islands Natonal Park Kelp ForestMonitoring Project are described in this report. Population dynamics of 68 taxa or categories of algae, fish, and invertebrates were measured at 16 permanent sites around the five islands within the park. Survey techniques utilized SCUBA and surface-supplied-air, and included quadrants, band transects, random point contacts, fish transects, video transects, size frequency measurements, artificial recruitment modules, and species list surveys. Temperature data was collected using temperature loggers deployed at each of the sixteen sites. Size frequency measurements were taken from artificial recruitment modules at ten sites. In 1994, 13 sites had giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, forests, one site was dominated by the aggregating red sea cucumber, Pachythyone rubra, one site was dominated by red sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus francisanus, and another by purple sea urchins, S. purpuratus. Wasting disease was observed in sea stars and wasting syndrome was apparent in sea urchins.

Mangroveforests are known to accomplish crucial ecosystem functions and services. They are nursery areas for fish, prawns and crabs, which provide coastal communities with a variety of food, timber and chemicals, and protect coasts from catastrophic events, such as tsunamis. Recently, a novel ecological service has been proposed for mangrove systems, namely natural wastewater treatment wetlands. This hypothesis was based on experimental data collected mainly in Chinese mangrove systems, which proved that mangrove soils were efficient in absorbing nutrients. Moreover, sewage loading seemed harmless to both plants and benthic communities in these systems. However, before promoting the use of natural mangroves as pollution buffers, or constructed mangrove wetlands as sewage treatment facilities, more data are needed on their overall tolerance to organic loading. Differences in macrobenthos patterns were thus investigated between peri-urban mangroves and sites not affected by sewage disposal in East Africa. We assessed differences in epifaunal assemblages, comprising crabs and molluscs, employing multivariate ACI unbalanced analyses to compare peri-urban mangrove swamps with those characteristic of non-urban mangroves with similar ecological traits. The sampling design was spatially nested, replicates being assessed at equatorial (southern Kenya) and subtropical (southern Mozambique) sites. The results manifested a consistent increase in crab biomass at the peri-urban sites in both Kenya and Mozambique. Moreover, the peri-urban systems were richer than the non-urban mangroves, both in terms of fiddler crabs ( Uca spp.) which feed on benthic microalgae and bacteria, and sesarmids, such as Perisesarma guttatum and Neosarmatium meinerti, which feed on both substratum and leaf litter. The abundance of gastropods, in contrast, decreased significantly, especially in Kenya, mainly due to the disappearance of the mud whelk Terebralia palustris. The results thus indicate that, in East African mangrove systems, domestic wastewater has detectable effects on crabs and molluscs, suggesting their usefulness as bioindicators of its effects in mangroves. Transformed benthic patterns at the peri-urban sites indicated the need for further study of the actual potential of natural mangroveforests to absorb pollution in sewage treatment.

In the face of unprecedented global change driven by anthropogenic pressure on natural systems it has become imperative to monitor and better understand potential shifts in ecosystem functioning and services from local to global scales. The utilization of automated sensors technologies offers numerous advantages over traditional on-site ecosystem surveying techniques and, as a result, sensor networks are becoming a powerful tool in environmental monitoring programs. Tropical forests, renowned for their biodiversity, are important regulators of land-atmosphere fluxes yet the seasonally dry tropical forests, which account for 40% of forested ecosystems in the American tropics, have been severely degraded over the past several decades and not much is known of their capacity to recover. With less than 1% of these forests protected, our ability to monitor the dynamics and quantify changes in the remaining primary and recovering secondary tropical dry forests is vital to understanding mechanisms of ecosystem stress responses and climate feedback with respect to annual productivity and desertification processes in the tropics. The remote sensing component of the Tropi-Dry: Human and Biophysical Dimensions of Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas research network supports a network of long-term tropical ecosystem monitoring platforms which focus on the dynamics of seasonally dry tropical forests in the Americas. With over 25 sensor station deployments operating across a latitudinal gradient in Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina continuously collecting hyper-temporal sensory input based on standardized deployment parameters, this monitoring system is unique among tropical environments. Technologies used in the network include optical canopy phenology towers, understory wireless sensing networks, above and below ground microclimate stations, and digital cameras. Sensory data streams are uploaded to a cyber-infrastructure initiative, denominated Enviro-Net°, for data storage, management, visualization, and retrieval for further analysis. The use of tower and ground-based optical sensor networks and meteorological monitoring instrumentation has proven effective in capturing seasonal growth patterns in primary and secondary forest stands. Furthermore, the observed trends in above and below ground microclimate variables are shown to closely correlate with in-situ vegetative indices (NDVI and EVI) across study sites. These long-term environmental sensory data streams provide valuable insights as to how these threatened semi-arid ecosystems regenerate after disturbances and how they respond to environmental stress such as climate change in the tropical and sub-tropical latitudes.

Mangrove ecosystems rely on seawater, rain-derived flow, and groundwater for hydrologic sustenance, flushing, and inflow of nutrients and sediments. The relative contribution of these source waters and their variability through time and space can provide key information concerning the hydrologic function of ecosystems. We used hydrologic tracers to partition source waters and trace their movements in the Enipoas stream, a river-dominated mangrove ecosystem on the island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and in the Yela watershed, an interior mangrove ecosystem on the island of Kosrae, FSM. The Enipoas site was characterized as a salt wedge estuary whose source water contributions alternated between predominantly seawater and rain-derived flow, depending on the tide. The source waters in the interior Yela site were also predominantly seawater and rain-derived flow, however the relative contribution of each was much more stable. The mean groundwater contribution was 5% (SD = 5.5) for the Enipoas site and 20% (SD = 11.0) for the Yela site. Although a small contributor to flow, groundwater was a steady source of freshwater for both systems. Hydrologic linkages between mangroves and adjacent ecosystems were demonstrated by the temporal and spatial distribution of source waters. The 0.8 km Enipoas estuary, with its highly dynamic bi-directional flows, transported source waters along a hydrologic continuum comprised of coral reef, mangroves, and palm forest. In the interior mangroves of the Yela watershed, the presence of rain-derived flow and groundwater demonstrated a hydraulic connection between the mangroves and an upstream freshwater swamp. Interior mangroves with such linkages avoid stresses such as desiccation and heightened salinity, and thus are more productive than those with little or no freshwater flows.

Following this disaster in Orissa caused by a super cyclone there was a great deal of controversy over whether the high levels of mangroveforest destruction in the area had increased the impact of the cyclone. Many argued that the loss of human life caused by the storm was directly linked to the removal of the natural defenses provided by

The study evaluated the possibility of using mangrove plantation to treat municipal wastewater. Two types of pilot scale (100 x 150 m2) free water surface constructed wetlands were set up at the Royal Laem Phak Bia Environmental Research and Development Project in central Thailand. One system is a natural Avicennia marina dominated forest system. The other system is a new

The study evaluated the possibility of using mangrove plantation to treat municipal wastewater. Two types of pilot scale (100 × 150 m2) free water surface constructed wetland were set up. One system was a natural Avicennia marina dominated forest system. The other system was a newly planted system in which seedlings of Rhizophora spp., A. marina, Bruguiera cylindrica and Ceriops

This presentation discusses a collaborative project to develop, test, and demonstrate baldcypress forest mapping and monitoring products for aiding forest conservation and restoration in coastal Louisiana. Low lying coastal forests in the region are being negatively impacted by multiple factors, including subsidence, salt water intrusion, sea level rise, persistent flooding, hydrologic modification, annual insect-induced forest defoliation, timber harvesting, and conversion to urban land uses. Coastal baldcypress forests provide invaluable ecological services in terms of wildlife habitat, forest products, storm buffers, and water quality benefits. Before this project, current maps of baldcypress forest concentrations and change did not exist or were out of date. In response, this project was initiated to produce: 1) current maps showing the extent and location of baldcypress dominated forests; and 2) wetland forest change maps showing temporary and persistent disturbance and loss since the early 1970s. Project products are being developed collaboratively with multiple state and federal agencies. Products are being validated using available reference data from aerial, satellite, and field survey data. Results include Landsat TM- based classifications of baldcypress in terms of cover type and percent canopy cover. Landsat MSS data was employed to compute a circa 1972 classification of swamp and bottomland hardwood forest types. Landsat data for 1972-2010 was used to compute wetland forest change products. MODIS-based change products were applied to view and assess insect-induced swamp forest defoliation. MODIS, Landsat, and ASTER satellite data products were used to help assess hurricane and flood impacts to coastal wetland forests in the region.

ERS synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery represents a tool for monitoring the effects of fires in boreal regions. Fire-scar signatures from ERS SAR collected over Canada and Alaska are presented. The temporal variability exhibited throughout the growing season is underlined. The investigation showed that these signatures have a seasonal trend related to the patterns of soil moisture originating from snow melts in the spring and precipitation during the growing season. These signatures appear in all the regions of the North American boreal forest and remain visible for up to 13 years after a fire.

The 1992 results of the Channel Islands Natioanl Park Kelp ForestMonitoring Project are described in this report. Population dynamics of 68 taxa or categories of algae, fish, and invertebrates were measured at 16 permanent sites around the five islands within the park. Survey techniques utilized SCUBA and surface-supplied-air, and included quadrats, band transects, random point contacts, fish and video transects, photogrammetric plots, size frequency measurements, artifical recruitment habitats, and species list surveys. Some batheothermograph data was collected. In 1992, nine sites and healthy kelp forests while seven were mostly barren. The seven barren sites consisted of one that was dominated by the aggregated red sea cucumber, Pachythyone rubra, one was barren with high sedimentation, one was domainated by red sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, and four sites were dominated by purple sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, three of which had signs of a developing kelp forest. Wasting disease was observed in sea stars and a wasting syndrome was observed in sea urchins. Fish recruitment appeared to be late this year. Size frequency measurements were taken from artificial recruitment modules (previously named `abalone recruitment modules`) at six of the sites.

Preliminary results from an analysis of the multitemporal radar backscatter signatures of tree species acquired by European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are presented. Significant changes in radar backscatter are detected. Correlation of these differences with ground truth observations indicate that these are due to changes in soil and liquid water content as a result of freeze/thaw events. C-band observations acquired by the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Airborne SAR (JPL AIRSAR) instrument demonstrate the potential of a C-band radar instrument to monitor drought/flood events. The potential of ERS-1 for monitoring phenologic changes in the forest and for classifying tree species is less promising.

Wildfires are a recurrent phenomenon in Mediterranean landscapes, deteriorating environment and ecosystems, calling out for adequate land management. Monitoring burned areas enhances our abilities to reclaim them. Remote sensing has become an increasingly important tool for environmental assessment and land management. It is fast, non-intrusive, and provides continuous spatial coverage. This paper reviews remote sensing methods, based on space-borne, airborne or ground-based multispectral imagery, for monitoring the biophysical properties of forest areas for site specific management. The usage of satellite imagery for land use management has been frequent in the last decades, it is of great use to determine plants health and crop conditions, allowing a synergy between the complexity of environment, anthropogenic landscapes and multi-temporal understanding of spatial dynamics. Aerial photography increments on spatial resolution, nevertheless it is heavily dependent on airborne availability as well as cost. Both these methods are required for wide areas management and policy planning. Comprising an active and high resolution imagery source, that can be brought at a specific instance, reducing cost while maintaining locational flexibility is of utmost importance for local management. In this sense, unmanned aerial vehicles provide maximum flexibility with image collection, they can incorporate thermal and multispectral sensors, however payload and engine operation time limit flight time. Balloon remote sensing is becoming increasingly sought after for site specific management, catering rapid digital analysis, permitting greater control of the spatial resolution as well as of datasets collection in a given time. Different wavelength sensors may be used to map spectral variations in plant growth, monitor water and nutrient stress, assess yield and plant vitality during different stages of development. Proximity could be an asset when monitoringforest plants vitality. Early predictions of re-vegetation success facilitate precise and timely diagnosis of stress, thus remedial actions can be taken at localized detail.

Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) and Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) treatments are short-term, high-intensity treatments designed to mitigate the adverse effects of wildfire on public lands. The federal government expends significant resources implementing ES&R and BAER treatments after wildfires; however, recent reviews have found that existing data from monitoring and research are insufficient to evaluate the effects of these activities. The purpose of this report is to: (1) document what monitoring methods are generally used by personnel in the field; (2) describe approaches and methods for post-fire vegetation and soil monitoring documented in agency manuals; (3) determine the common elements of monitoring programs recommended in these manuals; and (4) describe a common monitoring approach to determine the effectiveness of future ES&R and BAER treatments in non-forested regions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure effectiveness of ES&R treatments are used by federal land management agencies. Quantitative methods are used in the field depending on factors such as funding, personnel, and time constraints. There are seven vegetation monitoring manuals produced by the federal government that address monitoring methods for (primarily) vegetation and soil attributes. These methods vary in their objectivity and repeatability. The most repeatable methods are point-intercept, quadrat-based density measurements, gap intercepts, and direct measurement of soil erosion. Additionally, these manuals recommend approaches for designing monitoring programs for the state of ecosystems or the effect of management actions. The elements of a defensible monitoring program applicable to ES&R and BAER projects that most of these manuals have in common are objectives, stratification, control areas, random sampling, data quality, and statistical analysis. The effectiveness of treatments can be determined more accurately if data are gathered using an approach that incorporates these six monitoring program design elements and objectives, as well as repeatable procedures to measure cover, density, gap intercept, and soil erosion within each ecoregion and plant community. Additionally, using a common monitoring program design with comparable methods, consistently documenting results, and creating and maintaining a central database for query and reporting, will ultimately allow a determination of the effectiveness of post-fire rehabilitation activities region-wide.

Thermal infrared imagery from several satellite instruments, such as the NOAA AVHRR and the NASA MODIS, is presently used to detect and map forest fires. But while these radiometers can identify fires they are designed and optimized for cloud detection, providing relatively low spatial resolution and quickly saturating even for small fires. Efforts to detect and monitorforest fires from space would benefit from the development of single-sensor satellites designed specifically for this purpose. With the advent of uncooled thermal detectors, and thus the absence of aggressive cooling, the possibility of developing small satellites for the purpose of fire detection and monitoring becomes practical and cost-effective. Thus is the case with the Economical Microbolometer Based Environmental Radiometer Satellite (EMBERSat) program. The objective of this program is to develop a single, prototype satellite that will provide multiband thermal imagery with a spatial resolution of 250m and a dynamic range of 300-1000K. The thermal imaging payload has flight heritage in the Infrared Spectral Imaging Radiometer that flew aboard mission STS-85 and the spacecraft is a variant of the SimpleSat bus launched from the shuttle Columbia as part of STS-109. The EMBERSat program is a technology demonstration initiative with the eventual goal of providing high-resolution thermal imagery to both the scientific community and the public.

Thermal infrared imagery from several satellite instruments, such as the NOAA AVHRR and the NASA MODIS, is presently used to detect and map forest fires. But while these radiometers can identify fires they are designed and optimized for cloud detection, providing relatively low spatial resolution and quickly saturating even for small fires. Efforts to detect and monitorforest fires from space would benefit from the development of single-sensor satellites designed specifically for this purpose. With the advent of uncooled thermal detectors, and thus the absence of aggressive cooling, the possibility of developing small satellites for the purpose of fire detection and monitoring becomes practical and cost-effective. Thus is the case with the Economical Microbolometer Based Environmental Radiometer Satellite (EMBERSat) program. The objective of this program is to develop a single, prototype satellite that will provide multiband thermal imagery with a spatial resolution of 250m and a dynamic range of 300-1000K. The thermal imaging payload has flight heritage in the Infrared Spectral Imaging Radiometer that flew aboard mission STS-85 and the spacecraft is a variant of the SimpleSat bus launched from the shuttle Columbia as part of STS-105. The EMBERSat program is a technology demonstration initiative with the eventual goal of providing high-resolution thermal imagery to both the scientific community and the public.

For decades, astronauts on space missions have documented land use changes around the world. In this pair of images, astronauts track the development of shrimp farming along the Honduran coastline of the Gulf of Fonseca between 1989 and 2001. Mariculture, primarily shrimp farming, has become a leading agricultural effort in Honduras. The regional transformation of large tracts of coastal swamps into shrimp farms blossomed throughout the 1990s. The top image was taken with color infrared film in 1989. Dense vegetation, like the coastal mangrove swamps and the forested slopes of Volcan Cosiguina show up as dark red. The bottom image, taken with color visible film by the crew of the most recent Space Shuttle mission in December 2001 shows that hundreds of square kilometers of coastal swamp, primarily in Honduras, have been converted to shrimp ponds. These appear as the light-colored, rectilinear land use pattern. The Honduras shrimp farms were hit hard by flooding after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and a devastating virus in 1999-2000. It is not known how many of the ponds in this view are still functional. A vigorous debate continues about the sustainability of the shrimp farms and the impacts to the environment and coastal ecosystem due to mangrove clearing and mariculture waste production. Apart from the shrimp farms, the other prominent feature on these images is the impressive volcano Cosiguina, which erupted explosively in 1859 (the largest recorded eruption in the Western Hemisphere). Photograph STS-108-717-85 was taken in the December 2001 by the crew of Space Shuttle mission 108 using a Hasselblad camera with 250-mm lens. Photograph STS030-93-15 was taken in May 1989 using a Hasselblad camera and color infrared film. Both images are provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

A descriptive study of the architecture of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle L., habitat of Tampa Bay, FL, was conducted to assess if plant architecture could be used to discriminate overwash from fringing forest type. Seven above-water (e.g., tree height, diameter at breast height, and leaf area) and 10 below-water (e.g., root density, root complexity, and maximum root order) architectural features were measured in eight mangrove stands. A multivariate technique (discriminant analysis) was used to test the ability of different models comprising above-water, below-water, or whole tree architecture to classify forest type. Root architectural features appear to be better than classical forestry measurements at discriminating between fringing and overwash forests but, regardless of the features loaded into the model, misclassification rates were high as forest type was only correctly classified in 66% of the cases. Based upon habitat architecture, the results of this study do not support a sharp distinction between overwash and fringing red mangroveforests in Tampa Bay but rather indicate that the two are architecturally undistinguishable. Therefore, within this northern portion of the geographic range of red mangroves, a more appropriate classification system based upon architecture may be one in which overwash and fringing forest types are combined into a single, "tide dominated" category. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The International Workshop on Sustainable Forest Management: Monitoring and Verification of Greenhouse Gases was held in San Jose, Costa Rica, July 29-31, 1996. The main objectives of the workshop were to: (1) assemble key practitioners of forestry greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon offset projects, remote sensing of land cover change, guidelines development, and the forest products certification movement, to offer presentations and small group discussions on findings relevant to the crucial need for the development of guidelines for monitoring and verifying offset projects, and (2) disseminate the findings to interested carbon offset project developers and forestry and climate change policy makers, who need guidance and consistency of methods to reduce project transaction costs and increase probable reliability of carbon benefits, at appropriate venues. The workshop brought together about 45 participants from developed, developing, and transition countries. The participants included researchers, government officials, project developers, and staff from regional and international agencies. Each shared his or her perspectives based on experience in the development and use of methods for monitoring and verifying carbon flows from forest areas and projects. A shared sense among the participants was that methods for monitoring forestry projects are well established, and the techniques are known and used extensively, particularly in production forestry. Introducing climate change with its long-term perspective is often in conflict with the shorter-term perspective of most forestry projects and standard accounting principles. The resolution of these conflicts may require national and international agreements among the affected parties. The establishment of guidelines and protocols for better methods that are sensitive to regional issues will be an important first step to increase the credibility of forestry projects as viable mitigation options. The workshop deliberations led to three primary outputs: (1) a Workshop Statement in the JI Quarterly, September, 1996; (2) the publication of a series of selected peer-reviewed technical papers from the workshop in a report of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL. 40501); and (3) a special issue of the journal ''Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change'', Kluwer Academic Publishers. The outputs will be distributed to practitioners in this field and to negotiators attending the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) deliberations leading up to the Third conference of Parties in Kyoto, in December 1997.

Mangroves are species of halophytic intertidal trees and shrubs derived from tropical genera and are likely delimited in latitudinal range by varying sensitivity to cold. There is now sufficient evidence that mangrove species have proliferated at or near their poleward limits on at least five continents over the past half century, at the expense of salt marsh. Avicennia is the most cold-tolerant genus worldwide, and is the subject of most of the observed changes. Avicennia germinans has extended in range along the US Atlantic coast and expanded into salt marsh as a consequence of lower frost frequency and intensity in the southern USA. The genus has also expanded into salt marsh at its southern limit in Peru, and on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Mangroves of several species have expanded in extent and replaced salt marsh where protected within mangrove reserves in Guangdong Province. In south-eastern Australia, the expansion of Avicennia marina into salt marshes is now well documented, and Rhizophora stylosa has extended its range southward, while showing strong population growth within estuaries along its southern limits in northern New South Wales. Avicennia marina has extended its range southwards in South Africa. The changes are consistent with the pole-ward extension of temperature thresholds co-incident with sea-level rise, although the specific mechanism of range extension might be complicated by limitations on dispersal or other factors. The shift from salt marsh to mangrove dominance on subtropical and temperate shorelines has important implications for ecological structure, function, and global change adaptation.

Mangroves are species of halophytic intertidal trees and shrubs derived from tropical genera and are likely delimited in latitudinal range by varying sensitivity to cold. There is now sufficient evidence that mangrove species have proliferated at or near their poleward limits on at least five continents over the past half century, at the expense of salt marsh. Avicennia is the most cold-tolerant genus worldwide, and is the subject of most of the observed changes. Avicennia germinans has extended in range along the USA Atlantic coast and expanded into salt marsh as a consequence of lower frost frequency and intensity in the southern USA. The genus has also expanded into salt marsh at its southern limit in Peru, and on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Mangroves of several species have expanded in extent and replaced salt marsh where protected within mangrove reserves in Guangdong Province, China. In south-eastern Australia, the expansion of Avicennia marina into salt marshes is now well documented, and Rhizophora stylosa has extended its range southward, while showing strong population growth within estuaries along its southern limits in northern New South Wales. Avicennia marina has extended its range southwards in South Africa. The changes are consistent with the poleward extension of temperature thresholds coincident with sea-level rise, although the specific mechanism of range extension might be complicated by limitations on dispersal or other factors. The shift from salt marsh to mangrove dominance on subtropical and temperate shorelines has important implications for ecological structure, function, and global change adaptation. PMID:23907934

Across the globe, species distributions are changing in response to climate change and land use change. In parts of the southeastern United States, climate change is expected to result in the poleward range expansion of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the expense of some salt marsh vegetation. The morphology of A. germinans at its northern range limit is more shrub-like than in tropical climes in part due to the aboveground structural damage and vigorous multi-stem regrowth triggered by extreme winter temperatures. In this study, we developed aboveground allometric equations for freeze-affected black mangroves which can be used to quantify: (1) total aboveground biomass; (2) leaf biomass; (3) stem plus branch biomass; and (4) leaf area. Plant volume (i.e., a combination of crown area and plant height) was selected as the optimal predictor of the four response variables. We expect that our simple measurements and equations can be adapted for use in other mangrove ecosystems located in abiotic settings that result in mangrove individuals with dwarf or shrub-like morphologies including oligotrophic and arid environments. Many important ecological functions and services are affected by changes in coastal wetland plant community structure and productivity including carbon storage, nutrient cycling, coastal protection, recreation, fish and avian habitat, and ecosystem response to sea level rise and extreme climatic events. Coastal scientists in the southeastern United States can use the identified allometric equations, in combination with easily obtained and non-destructive plant volume measurements, to better quantify and monitor ecological change within the dynamic, climate sensitive, and highly-productive mangrove-marsh ecotone. PMID:24971938

Across the globe, species distributions are changing in response to climate change and land use change. In parts of the southeastern United States, climate change is expected to result in the poleward range expansion of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the expense of some salt marsh vegetation. The morphology of A. germinans at its northern range limit is more shrub-like than in tropical climes in part due to the aboveground structural damage and vigorous multi-stem regrowth triggered by extreme winter temperatures. In this study, we developed aboveground allometric equations for freeze-affected black mangroves which can be used to quantify: (1) total aboveground biomass; (2) leaf biomass; (3) stem plus branch biomass; and (4) leaf area. Plant volume (i.e., a combination of crown area and plant height) was selected as the optimal predictor of the four response variables. We expect that our simple measurements and equations can be adapted for use in other mangrove ecosystems located in abiotic settings that result in mangrove individuals with dwarf or shrub-like morphologies including oligotrophic and arid environments. Many important ecological functions and services are affected by changes in coastal wetland plant community structure and productivity including carbon storage, nutrient cycling, coastal protection, recreation, fish and avian habitat, and ecosystem response to sea level rise and extreme climatic events. Coastal scientists in the southeastern United States can use the identified allometric equations, in combination with easily obtained and non-destructive plant volume measurements, to better quantify and monitor ecological change within the dynamic, climate sensitive, and highly-productive mangrove-marsh ecotone. PMID:24971938

Across the globe, species distributions are changing in response to climate change and land use change. In parts of the southeastern United States, climate change is expected to result in the poleward range expansion of black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) at the expense of some salt marsh vegetation. The morphology of A. germinans at its northern range limit is more shrub-like than in tropical climes in part due to the aboveground structural damage and vigorous multi-stem regrowth triggered by extreme winter temperatures. In this study, we developed aboveground allometric equations for freeze-affected black mangroves which can be used to quantify: (1) total aboveground biomass; (2) leaf biomass; (3) stem plus branch biomass; and (4) leaf area. Plant volume (i.e., a combination of crown area and plant height) was selected as the optimal predictor of the four response variables. We expect that our simple measurements and equations can be adapted for use in other mangrove ecosystems located in abiotic settings that result in mangrove individuals with dwarf or shrub-like morphologies including oligotrophic and arid environments. Many important ecological functions and services are affected by changes in coastal wetland plant community structure and productivity including carbon storage, nutrient cycling, coastal protection, recreation, fish and avian habitat, and ecosystem response to sea level rise and extreme climatic events. Coastal scientists in the southeastern United States can use the identified allometric equations, in combination with easily obtained and non-destructive plant volume measurements, to better quantify and monitor ecological change within the dynamic, climate sensitive, and highly-productive mangrove-marsh ecotone.

Many countries undertake a national forest inventory to enable statistically valid monitoring in support of national and international reporting of forest conditions and change. Canada's National Forest Inventory (NFI) program is designed to operate on a 10-year remeasurement cycle, with an interim report produced at the 5-year mid-point. The NFI is a sample-based inventory, with approximately 18,850 2×2-km photo plots across the country, distributed on a 20×20-km grid of sample points; these photo plots are the primary data source for the NFI. Capacity to provide annual monitoring information is required to keep policy and decision makers apprised of current forest conditions. In this study, we implemented a multistage monitoring framework and used a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) change product to successfully identify 78% of the changes in forest cover area that were captured with a Landsat change detection approach. Of the NFI photo plots that were identified by both the Landsat and MODIS approaches as having changes in forest cover, the proportion of change area within the plots was similar (R2=0.78). Approximately 70% of the Landsat-derived change events occupied less than 40% of a single MODIS pixel, and more than 90% of the change events of this size were successfully detected with the MODIS product. Finally, MODIS estimates of the proportion of forest cover change at the NFI photo plot level were comparable to change estimates for the ecoregions as a whole (R2=0.95). High-temporal, low-spatial resolution imagery such as MODIS, in combination with other remotely sensed data sources, can provide information on disturbance events within a national forest inventory remeasurement cycle, thereby satisfying the interim information needs of policy and decision makers as well as the requirements of national and international reporting commitments. PMID:19908150

Enhanced species richness can stimulate the productivity of plant communities; however, its effect on the belowground production of forests has scarcely been tested, despite the role of tree roots in carbon storage and ecosystem processes. Therefore, we tested for the effects of tree species richness on mangrove root biomass: thirty-two 6 m by 6 m plots were planted with zero (control), one, two or three species treatments of six-month-old Avicennia marina (A), Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (B) and Ceriops tagal (C). A monoculture of each species and the four possible combinations of the three species were used, with four replicate plots per treatment. Above- and belowground biomass was measured after three and four years' growth. In both years, the all-species mix (ABC) had significant overyielding of roots, suggesting complementarity mediated by differences in rhizosphere use amongst species. In year four, there was higher belowground than aboveground biomass in all but one treatment. Belowground biomass was strongly influenced by the presence of the most vigorously growing species, A. marina. These results demonstrate the potential for complementarity between fast- and slow-growing species to enhance belowground growth in mangroveforests, with implications for forest productivity and the potential for belowground carbon sequestration. PMID:23073636

Mangroveforests, which are declining across the globe mainly because of human intervention, require an evaluation of their past and present status (e.g. areal extent, species-level distribution, etc.) to better implement conservation and management strategies. In this paper, mangrove cover dynamics at Gaoqiao (under the jurisdiction of Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve - ZMNNR, P. R. China) were assessed through time using 1967 (Corona KH-4B), 2000 (Landsat ETM+), and 2009 (GeoEye-1) satellite imagery. An important decline in mangrove cover (-36%) was observed between 1967 and 2009 due to dike construction for agriculture (paddy) and aquaculture practices. Moreover, dike construction prevented mangroves from expanding landward. Although a small increase of mangrove area was observed between 2000 and 2009 (+24%), the ratio mangrove/aquaculture kept decreasing due to increased aquaculture at the expense of rice culture. In the land-use/cover map based on ground-truth data (5 m × 5 m plot-based tree measurements) (August-September, 2009) and spectral reflectance values (obtained from pansharpened GeoEye-1), both Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and small Aegiceras corniculatum are distinguishable at 73-100% accuracy, whereas tall A. corniculatum is identifiable at only 53% due to its mixed vegetation stands close to B. gymnorrhiza (classification accuracy: 85%). Sand proportion in the sediment showed significant differences (Kruskal-Wallis/ANOVA, P < 0.05) between the three mangrove classes (B. gymnorrhiza and small and tall A. corniculatum). Distribution of tall A. corniculatum on the convex side of creeks and small A.corniculatum on the concave side (with sand) show intriguing patterns of watercourse changes. Overall, the advantage of very high resolution satellite images like GeoEye-1 for mangrove spatial heterogeneity assessment and/or species-level discrimination is well demonstrated, along with the complexity to provide a precise classification for non-dominant species (e.g. Kandelia obovata) at Gaoqiao. Despite the limitations such as geometric distortion and single band information, the 42-yr old Corona declassified images are invaluable for land-use/cover change detections when compared to recent satellite data sets.

Environmental vulnerability can be understood as a function of exposure to impacts and the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of ecological systems towards environmental tensors. The present study empirically evaluated the vulnerability of forest stands that make up the subtropical Perequê River mangrove (Paranaguá Bay, S Brazil) as the basis for a more appropriate management of its resources. This mangrove is located in the coastal municipality of Pontal do Paraná (Paraná, Brazil) and is part of the Perequê River Mangrove Natural Park, which is still not under a management plan. This study aimed to contribute to the future management plan of this conservation unit through an environmental diagnosis and an empirical evaluation of its vulnerability. The primary data, collected from 51 plots of 100 m(2) each, involved the evaluation of: 1) the exposure to solid waste, deforestation, trails, landfills, and constructions; 2) the degree of sensitivity according to the environmental conditions of each plot; and 3) the adaptive capacity according to the recovery and reproductive potential and structural complexity of the forests. These data were integrated to compose the empirical index of environmental vulnerability (VI) expressed as VI = (SI + EI) - ACI where SI is the sensitivity sub-index, EI is the exposure sub-index, and ACI is the adaptive capacity sub-index. Empirical indices calculated for local forests varied significantly due to differences in values of SI, EI and ACI. This variability defines the local mangrove as a mosaic of vulnerability conditions and suggests that the planning and implementation of local management actions consider such environmental heterogeneity. Applying or extending these actions should be based on local forest conditions at short spatial scales and should not be applied to the mangrove as a whole. PMID:25093304

Mangroveforests, though essentially common and wide-spread, are highly threatened. Local societies along with their knowledge about the mangrove also are endangered, while they are still underrepresented as scientific research topics. With the present study we document local utilization patterns, and perception of ecosystem change. We illustrate how information generated by ethnobiological research can be used to strengthen the management of the ecosystem. This study was conducted in the Godavari mangroveforest located in the East-Godavari District of the state Andhra Pradesh in India, where mangroves have been degrading due to over-exploitation, extensive development of aquaculture, and pollution from rural and urbanized areas (Kakinada).One hundred interviews were carried out among the fisherfolk population present in two mangrove zones in the study area, a wildlife sanctuary with strong conservation status and an adjacent zone. Results from the interviews indicated that Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh., a dominant species in the Godavari mangroves, is used most frequently as firewood and for construction. Multiple products of the mangrove included the bark of Ceriops decandra (Griff.) Ding Hou to dye the fishing nets and improve their durability, the bark of Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco to poison and catch fish, and the leaves of Avicennia spp. and Excoecaria agallocha L. as fodder for cattle. No medicinal uses of true mangrove species were reported, but there were a few traditional uses for mangrove associates. Utilization patterns varied in the two zones that we investigated, most likely due to differences in their ecology and legal status. The findings are discussed in relation with the demographic and socio-economic traits of the fisherfolk communities of the Godavari mangroves and indicate a clear dependency of their livelihood on the mangroveforest.Reported changes in the Godavari mangrove cover also differed in the two zones, with significantly less perceptions of a decrease in the protected area, as compared to the adjacent non-protected area. A posteriori comparisons between sequential satellite imagery (retrospective till 1977) and respondents that were at least 15 years back then, revealed a mangrove decrease which was however perceived to different extents depending on the area with which the fishermen were familiar. While local needs had not been incorporated in the existing policy, we created a framework on how data on ethnobotanical traditions, fishery-related activities and local people's perceptions of change can be incorporated into management strategies. PMID:16681845

Mangroveforests, though essentially common and wide-spread, are highly threatened. Local societies along with their knowledge about the mangrove also are endangered, while they are still underrepresented as scientific research topics. With the present study we document local utilization patterns, and perception of ecosystem change. We illustrate how information generated by ethnobiological research can be used to strengthen the management of the ecosystem. This study was conducted in the Godavari mangroveforest located in the East-Godavari District of the state Andhra Pradesh in India, where mangroves have been degrading due to over-exploitation, extensive development of aquaculture, and pollution from rural and urbanized areas (Kakinada). One hundred interviews were carried out among the fisherfolk population present in two mangrove zones in the study area, a wildlife sanctuary with strong conservation status and an adjacent zone. Results from the interviews indicated that Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh., a dominant species in the Godavari mangroves, is used most frequently as firewood and for construction. Multiple products of the mangrove included the bark of Ceriops decandra (Griff.) Ding Hou to dye the fishing nets and improve their durability, the bark of Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco to poison and catch fish, and the leaves of Avicennia spp. and Excoecaria agallocha L. as fodder for cattle. No medicinal uses of true mangrove species were reported, but there were a few traditional uses for mangrove associates. Utilization patterns varied in the two zones that we investigated, most likely due to differences in their ecology and legal status. The findings are discussed in relation with the demographic and socio-economic traits of the fisherfolk communities of the Godavari mangroves and indicate a clear dependency of their livelihood on the mangroveforest. Reported changes in the Godavari mangrove cover also differed in the two zones, with significantly less perceptions of a decrease in the protected area, as compared to the adjacent non-protected area. A posteriori comparisons between sequential satellite imagery (retrospective till 1977) and respondents that were at least 15 years back then, revealed a mangrove decrease which was however perceived to different extents depending on the area with which the fishermen were familiar. While local needs had not been incorporated in the existing policy, we created a framework on how data on ethnobotanical traditions, fishery-related activities and local people's perceptions of change can be incorporated into management strategies. PMID:16681845

The climate change mitigation mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is currently being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Integrating biodiversity monitoring into REDD+ facilitates compliance with the safeguards stipulated by the UNFCCC to exclude environmental risks. Interviews with actors engaged in REDD+ implementation and biodiversity conservation at the national and sub-national level in Peru (n = 30) and a literature review (n = 58) were conducted to pinpoint constraints and opportunities for monitoring effects of REDD+ management interventions on biodiversity, and to identify relevant biodiversity data and indicators. It was found that particularly sub-national actors, who were frequently involved in REDD+ pilot projects, acknowledge the availability of biodiversity data. Actors at both the national and sub-national levels, however, criticized data gaps and data being scattered across biodiversity research organizations. Most of the literature reviewed (78 %) included indicators on the state of certain biodiversity aspects, especially mammals. Indicators for pressure on biodiversity, impacts on environmental functions, or policy responses to environmental threats were addressed less frequently (31, 21, and 10 %, respectively). Integrating biodiversity concerns in carbon monitoring schemes was considered to have potential, although few specific examples were identified. The involvement of biodiversity research organizations in sub-national REDD+ activities enhances monitoring capacities. It is discussed how improvements in collaboration among actors from the project to the national level could facilitate the evaluation of existing information at the national level. Monitoring changes in ecosystem services may increase the ecological and socioeconomic viability of REDD+. PMID:24178126

The climate change mitigation mechanism Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) is currently being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Integrating biodiversity monitoring into REDD+ facilitates compliance with the safeguards stipulated by the UNFCCC to exclude environmental risks. Interviews with actors engaged in REDD+ implementation and biodiversity conservation at the national and sub-national level in Peru ( n = 30) and a literature review ( n = 58) were conducted to pinpoint constraints and opportunities for monitoring effects of REDD+ management interventions on biodiversity, and to identify relevant biodiversity data and indicators. It was found that particularly sub-national actors, who were frequently involved in REDD+ pilot projects, acknowledge the availability of biodiversity data. Actors at both the national and sub-national levels, however, criticized data gaps and data being scattered across biodiversity research organizations. Most of the literature reviewed (78 %) included indicators on the state of certain biodiversity aspects, especially mammals. Indicators for pressure on biodiversity, impacts on environmental functions, or policy responses to environmental threats were addressed less frequently (31, 21, and 10 %, respectively). Integrating biodiversity concerns in carbon monitoring schemes was considered to have potential, although few specific examples were identified. The involvement of biodiversity research organizations in sub-national REDD+ activities enhances monitoring capacities. It is discussed how improvements in collaboration among actors from the project to the national level could facilitate the evaluation of existing information at the national level. Monitoring changes in ecosystem services may increase the ecological and socioeconomic viability of REDD+.

Although the sediments of coastal marine mangroveforests have been considered a minor source of atmospheric methane, these estimate have been based on sparse data from similar areas. We have gathered evidence that shows that external nutrient and freshwater loading in mangrove sediments may have a significant effect on methane flux. Experiments were performed to examine methane fluxes from anaerobic sediments in a mangroveforest subjected to secondary sewage effluents on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. Emission rates were measured in situ using a static chamber technique, and subsequent laboratory analysis of samples was by gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. Results indicate that methane flux rates were lowest at the landward fringe nearest to the effluent discharge, higher in the seaward fringe occupied by red mangroves, and highest in the transition zone between black and red mangrove communities, with average values of 4 mg CH[sub 4] m[sup [minus]2] d[sup [minus]1], 42 mg CH[sub 4] m[sup [minus]2] d[sup [minus]1], and 82 mg CH[sub 4] m[sup [minus]2] d[sup [minus]1], respectively. Overall mean values show these sediments may emit as much as 40 times more methane than unimpacted pristine areas. Pneumatophores of Aviciennia germinans have been found to serve as conduits to the atmosphere for this gas. Fluctuating water level overlying the mangrove sediment is an important environmental factor controlling seasonal and interannual CH[sub 4] flux variations. Environmental controls such as freshwater inputs and increased nutrient loading influence in situ methane emissions from these environments. 34 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Vegetation phenology exerts strong influence on energy exchange between land surface and atmosphere. Generally, overstory and understory canopies have different phenology pattern depending on their microclimate conditions and their life stages. Forest canopy reflectance gives important information on leaf phenology. Satellite remote sensing, which have been widely used to monitor vegetation reflectance, is unable to separate spectral signals between overstory and understory canopies in dense, multi-layered forests. In this study, we use LEDs (light emitting diodes) sensors to monitor spectral reflectance across canopy depths to detect phenological changes in multile-canopy layers in temperate deciduous and evergreen forests. The LEDs-sensors are able to measure spectral reflectance in red, green, blue and NIR bands, which enable us to calculate NDVI, EVI, simple ratio (NIR/R), and greenness index (G/(R+G+B)) We report strengths and limitations of each index to detect phenological variations across canopy depths. Also we discuss improvements in LEDs-sensors.

This BioBulletin Web site takes an in-depth look at mangrove ecosystems. The site includes text, videos, photographs, and interactives. The collection of essays explores the importance of these remarkably diverse ecosystems, examines why mangroves have disappeared with alarming speed, the reasons why it is difficult to preserve them and the diverse species that rely on mangroves. The work of an innovative grassroots organization in southern Thailand in profiled.

Mangroveforests are highly productive but globally threatened coastal ecosystems, whose role in the carbon budget of the coastal zone has long been debated. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the available data on carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems. A reassessment of global mangrove primary production from the literature results in a conservative estimate of ???-218 ?? 72 Tg C a-1. When using the best available estimates of various carbon sinks (organic carbon export, sediment burial, and mineralization), it appears that >50% of the carbon fixed by mangrove vegetation is unaccounted for. This unaccounted carbon sink is conservatively estimated at ??? 112 ?? 85 Tg C a-1, equivalent in magnitude to ??? 30-40% of the global riverine organic carbon input to the coastal zone. Our analysis suggests that mineralization is severely underestimated, and that the majority of carbon export from mangroves to adjacent waters occurs as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). CO2 efflux from sediments and creek waters and tidal export of DIC appear to be the major sinks. These processes are quantitatively comparable in magnitude to the unaccounted carbon sink in current budgets, but are not yet adequately constrained with the limited published data available so far. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

The most commonly used old?growth forest indicators are structural attributes; nevertheless, they do not necessarily represent the biodiversity value of old?growth forests. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between species richness data of different taxa and structural indicators of old?growth and to identify taxonomic\\/functional groups, species and structural attributes that may be used as indicators of

As part of the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project, an eight-year study designed to measure the impacts of forest treatments (thinning, mastication, controlled burns) on multiple forest attributes, four headwater catchments were established to provide data on hydrologic response to treatments. These 1-km2 study catchments are each sited within 40-100 km2 firesheds, which in this case largely follow watershed boundaries, and which are the larger study areas for informing adaptive management of approximately 3,000 km2 of mixed-conifer forest in California’s central and southern Sierra Nevada. The aim of the hydrologic design was to put in place a ground-based monitoring network that would measure hydrologic attributes at representative locations, and when combined with remotely sensed data, provide a basis for predictive modeling of the larger study area. The selected locations employ instrument clusters, or groupings of instruments in a compact arrangement, to maximize the number of measurements possible and accessibility to the monitoring sites. The two study firesheds , located in the Tahoe and Sierra National Forests, cover a total of about 140-km2. Within each fireshed, two meteorological stations were placed near 1650-m and 2150-m, spanning the precipitation gradient from lower-elevation rain-dominated to higher-elevation snow-dominated systems. Two headwater streams draining approximately 1-km2 are monitored for stage, discharge, electrical conductivity, and sediment movement. Additionally, instrument nodes to monitor temperature, snow depth and soil moisture are installed within 0.5-1 km of the outlet and meterological stations. These nodes were placed to monitor end members of aspect, slope, elevation and canopy cover, which set the boundaries for the model outputs. High-resolution LiDAR provides the topographic and distributed vegetation characteristics, which are combined with field surveys and standard soils information to define the modeling environment. Results from embedded sensor networks, synoptic field surveys and satellite data indicate that the sampling design accurately captures the physiographic and hydrologic variability, and sufficiently constrains hydrologic model parameters and inputs to predict the impact of vegetation changes on hydrologic response to forest management.

Comprehensive assessment of individual-tree crown condition by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program has its origins in the concerns about widespread forest decline in Europe and North America that developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Programs such as the US National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, US National Vegetation Survey, Canadian Acid Rain National Early Warning System, and joint US-Canadian North American Sugar Maple Decline Project laid the groundwork for the development of the US Forest Service crown-condition indicator. The crown-condition assessment protocols were selected and refined through literature review, peer review, and field studies in several different forest types during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1980 and 2011, 126 publications relating specifically to the crown-condition indicator were added to the literature. The majority of the articles were published by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service or other State or Federal government agency, and more than half were published after 2004. PMID:23054283

forests are highly productive ecosystems, but the fate of mangrove-derived carbon remains uncertain. Part of that uncertainty stems from the fact that gas transfer velocities in mangrove-surrounded waters are not well determined, leading to uncertainty in air-water CO2 fluxes. Two SF6 tracer release experiments were conducted to determine gas transfer velocities (k(600) = 8.3 ± 0.4 and 8.1 ± 0.6 cm h-1), along with simultaneous measurements of pCO2 to determine the air-water CO2 fluxes from Shark River, Florida (232.11 ± 23.69 and 171.13 ± 20.28 mmol C m-2 d-1), an estuary within the largest contiguous mangroveforest in North America. The gas transfer velocity results are consistent with turbulent kinetic energy dissipation measurements, indicating a higher rate of turbulence and gas exchange than predicted by commonly used wind speed/gas exchange parameterizations. The results have important implications for carbon fluxes in mangrove ecosystems.

This review represents the studies performed on some beneficial mangrove plants such as Ceriops decandra, Xylocarpus granatum, Xylocarpus moluccensis, Excoecaria agallocha, Sarcolobus globosus, Sonneratia caseolaris and Acanthus ilicifolius from the Sundarban estuary spanning India and Bangladesh with regard to their biological activities and chemical investigations till date. Sundarban is the largest single chunk of mangroveforest in the world. The forest is a source of livelihood to numerous people of the region. Several of its plant species have very large applications in the traditional folk medicine; various parts of these plants are used by the local people as cure for various ailments. Despite such enormous potential, remarkably few reports are available on these species regarding their biological activities and the active principles responsible for such activities. Though some chemical studies have been made on the mangrove plants of this estuary, reports pertaining to their activity-structure relationship are few in number. An attempt has been made in this review to increase the awareness for the medicinal significance as well as conservation and utilization of these mangrove species as natural rich sources of novel bioactive agents. PMID:24347925

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations presents this biannual report on the status of the world's forests. Available as a series of downloadable documents, this comprehensive report addresses recent developments in the forest sector such as agricultural expansion and mangrove conversion, conservation and sustainable development, forestry education and other institutional concerns, international policy, and other issues.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations presents this biannual report on the status of the world's forests. Available as a series of downloadable documents, this comprehensive report addresses recent developments in the forest sector such as agricultural expansion and mangrove conversion, conservation and sustainable development, forestry education and other institutional concerns, international policy, and other issues.

Deforestation in the biosphere reserves, which are key Protected Areas has negative impacts on biodiversity, climate, carbon fluxes and livelihoods. Comprehensive study of deforestation in biosphere reserves is required to assess the impact of the management effectiveness. This article assesses the changes in forest cover in various zones and protected areas of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the first declared biosphere reserve in India which forms part of Western Ghats-a global biodiversity hotspot. In this study, we have mapped the forests from earliest available topographical maps and multi-temporal satellite data spanning from 1920's to 2012 period. Mapping of spatial extent of forest cover, vegetation types and land cover was carried out using visual interpretation technique. A grid cell of 1 km?×?1 km was generated for time series change analysis to understand the patterns in spatial distribution of forest cover (1920-1973-1989-1999-2006-2012). The total forest area of biosphere reserve was found to be 5,806.5 km(2) (93.8 % of total geographical area) in 1920. Overall loss of forest cover was estimated as 1,423.6 km(2) (24.5 % of the total forest) with reference to 1920. Among the six Protected Areas, annual deforestation rate of >0.5 was found in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary during 1920-1973. The deforestation in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is mainly attributed to conversion of forests to plantations and agriculture along with submergence due to construction of dams during 1920 to 1989. Grid wise analysis indicates that 851 grids have undergone large-scale negative changes of >75 ha of forest loss during 1920-1973 while, only 15 grids have shown >75 ha loss during 1973-1989. Annual net rate of deforestation for the period of 1920 to 1973 was calculated as 0.5 followed by 0.1 for 1973 to 1989. Our analysis shows that there was large-scale deforestation before the declaration of area as biosphere reserve in 1986; however, the deforestation has drastically reduced after the declaration due to high degree of protection, thus indicating the secure future of reserve in the long term under the current forest management practices. The present work will stand as the most up-to-date assessment on the forest cover of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve with immediate applications in monitoring and management of forest biodiversity. PMID:25117494

Wildlife conservationists design monitoring programs to assess population dynamics, project future population states, and evaluate the impacts of management actions on populations. Because agency mandates and conservation laws call for monitoring data to elicit management responses, it is imperative to design programs that match the administrative scale for which management decisions are made. We describe a program to monitor population trends in American beaver (Castor canadensis) on the US Department of Agriculture, Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, USA. Beaver have been designated as a management indicator species on the BHNF because of their association with riparian and aquatic habitats and its status as a keystone species. We designed our program to monitor the density of beaver food caches (abundance) within sampling units with beaver and the proportion of sampling units with beavers present at the scale of a national forest. We designated watersheds as sampling units in a stratified random sampling design that we developed based on habitat modeling results. Habitat modeling indicated that the most suitable beaver habitat was near perennial water, near aspen (Populus tremuloides) and willow (Salix spp.), and in low gradient streams at lower elevations. Results from the initial monitoring period in October 2007 allowed us to assess costs and logistical considerations, validate our habitat model, and conduct power analyses to assess whether our sampling design could detect the level of declines in beaver stated in the monitoring objectives. Beaver food caches were located in 20 of 52 sampled watersheds. Monitoring 20 to 25 watersheds with beaver should provide sufficient power to detect 15-40% declines in the beaver food cache index as well as a twofold decline in the odds of beaver being present in watersheds. Indices of abundance, such as the beaver food cache index, provide a practical measure of population status to conduct long-term monitoring across broad landscapes such as national forests. PMID:19396556

This is a contribution to the discussion on the potential mitigating effect of mangroves to tsunami damage. Kathiresan and Rajendran (2005) were criticised by Kerr et al. (2006). We re-analysed of the original data with an ANOVA-model with covariates. We conclude: (a) the original conclusion of Kathiresan and Rajendran (2005) holds, mortality and property loss were less behind mangroves, and

Acquisition of mangrove spectrum properties and detecting the sensitive bands provide technology basis for inverse modeling and estimation by remote sensing for various indexes of mangrove. The typical mangroves of Guangxi Shankou Mangrove Reserve were taken for study objects, the standard spectrum curves of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Linn.) Savigny, Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia candel, Avicennia marina, Aegiceras corniculatum, Spartina anglica and mudflat were gained by denoising analysis of field-measured spectrum curves acquired by ASD FieldSpec 2. Analyzing the spectral characteristics and their differences, the authors found that the spectrum curves for various kinds of mangrove are coincident, the bands that appeared with reflection peaks and reflection valleys are basically identical, the within-class differentiated characteristics are comparatively small, the spectrum characteristics of mangroves are obviously different with Spartina anglica and mudflat. In order to gain the quantitative description for within-class differentiated characteristics of mangrove, space distance method, correlation coefficient method and spectral angle mapping method were used to calculate the within-class differentiated characteristics. The division accuracy of correlation coefficient method is higher than spectral angle mapping method which is higher than space distance method, and the result indicates that the spectrum differences of within-class mangrove and Spartina anglica are relatively small with correlation coefficients more than 0.995, and spectrum curve angle cosine values more than 0.95. PMID:23697131

The Philippines has one of the world's fastest disappearing forest cover, which is being lost to natural processes and landscape-modifying human activities. Currently, forested landscape covers 24% (i.e., 7.2 million hectares) of the Philippines' total land area, of which only 800,000 hectares are considered as old-growth forests. Occasionally, volcanic activities and earthquakes cause large-scale impacts on the forest cover, but

Sustainable management of tropical forests has been identified as one of the main objectives for global conservation and management of carbon stocks. Toward this goal, managers need tools to determine whether current management practices are sustainable. Several international initiatives have been undertaken for the development of criteria and indicators to aid managers in moving toward sustainable practices. Despite these efforts,

A variety of potent air toxins are in the smoke produced by burning forest and range biomass. Preliminary data on firefighter exposures to carbon monoxide and formaldehyde at four prescribed burns of Western United States natural fuels are presented. Formaldehyde may be correlated to carbon monoxide emissions. The firefighters' exposures to these compounds relative to workplace standards are discussed.

The crab Ucides cordatus and the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle are endemic mangrove species and potential bio-accumulators of metals. This study quantified the accumulation of six metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn and Pb) in different organs (claw muscle, hepatopancreas and gills) of U. cordatus, as well as in different maturation stages of the leaves (buds, green mature, and pre-abscission senescent) of R. mangle. Samples were collected from mangrove areas in Cubatão, state of São Paulo, a heavily polluted region in Brazil. Data for metal contents in leaves were evaluated by one-way ANOVA; while for crabs a factorial ANOVA was used to investigate the effect of different tissues, animal size and the interactions between them. Means were compared by Tukey test at five percent, and the association between the metal concentrations in each crab organ, depending on the size, was evaluated by Pearson's linear correlation coefficient (r). Concentrations of Pb and Hg were undetectable for the different leaf stages and crab tissues, while Cd concentrations were undetectable in the leaf stages. In general, the highest accumulation of metals in R. mangle leaves occurred in pre-abscission senescent and green mature leaves, except for Cu, which was found in the highest concentrations in buds and green mature leaves. For the crab, Cd, Cu, Cr and Mn were present in concentrations above the detection limit, with the highest accumulation in the hepatopancreas, followed by the gills. Cu was accumulated mostly in the gills. Patterns of bioaccumulation between the crab and the mangrove tree differed for each metal, probably due to the specific requirements of each organism for essential metals. However, there was a close and direct relationship between metal accumulation in the mangrove trees and in the crabs feeding on them. Tissues of R. mangle leaves and U. cordatus proved effective for monitoring metals, acting as important bioindicators of mangrove areas contaminated by various metals. PMID:22621724

We quantified the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on the structure and biodiversity of boreal forests on acidic soils and created a statistically supported rational set of indicators to monitor the stand “naturalness”. For that, we surveyed various traits of tree layer, understory, herb layer, forest floor and several widely accepted biodiversity epiphytic indicators in 252 old?aged boreal stands in Estonia,

In this study, it was evaluated the potential of LANDSAT ETM+ for detecting and monitoring the quality of forest management plans in the Brazilian Amazon based on the canopy disturbance in dense and transi- tional forests. The canopy disturbance dynamic was analyzed through vegetation fraction images obtained from spectral mixing analysis. These techniques were applied in areas of Conventional Logging

We monitor bedload transport and water discharge at six stations in two forested headwater streams of the Columbia Mountains, Canada. The monitoring network of sediment traps is designed to examine the effects of channel bed texture, and the influence of alluvial (i.e., step pools, and riffle pools) and semi-alluvial morphologies (i.e., boulder cascades and forced step pools) on bedload entrainment and transport. Results suggest that patterns of bedload entrainment are influenced by flow resistance while the value of the critical dimensionless shear stress for mobilization of the surface D50 varies due to channel gradient, grain sheltering effects and, to a less extent, flow resistance. Regardless of channel morphology we observe: (i) equal-threshold entrainment for all mobile grains in channels with high grain and/or form resistance; and (ii) initial equal-threshold entrainment of calibers ? 22mm, and subsequent size-selective entrainment of coarser material in channels with low form resistance (e.g. riffle pool). Scaled fractional analysis reveals that in reaches with high flow resistance most bedload transport occurs in partial mobility fashion relative to the available bed material and that only material finer than 16mm attains full mobility during over-bank flows. Equal mobility transport for a wider range of grain sizes is achieved in reaches with reduced flow resistance. Evaluation of bedload rating curves across sites identifies that grain effects predominate with respect to bedload flux whereas morphological effects (i.e. form resistance) play a secondary role. Application of selected empirical formulae developed in steep alpine channels present variable success in predicting transport rates in the study reaches.

Little is known about the effectiveness of mangroves in suppressing water level heights during landfall of tropical storms\\u000a and hurricanes. Recent hurricane strikes along the Gulf Coast of the United States have impacted wetland integrity in some\\u000a areas and hastened the need to understand how and to what degree coastal forested wetlands confer protection by reducing the\\u000a height of peak

In this study we attempted to monitor two main key stages in the phenological cycle of deciduous forests—budburst and senescence—using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from NOAA\\/AVHRR. These stages induce rapid (time scale of a month), large (>0.3) and nearly linear NDVI variations. The method we developed consists of a fit of NDVI predicted by line segment to

Long-term study on acid precipitation monitoring at suburban forests in Sapporo city showed that bulk precipitation pH were below 4.8 in recent years. Throughfall and stemflow chemistry for two main coniferous species (Abies sachalinensis and Picea jezoensis) showed different regime for pH and element deposition. The mean annual pH values of throughfall and stemflow in Picea stand were 1.0 to

Forested riparian buffers play a vital role in protecting riparian ecosystems from natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Quantifying effective reach and catchment scale buffer designs is critical to achieve economic and riparian wetland natural resource sustainability. Advances in management of riparian wetlands require innovative reach-scale experimental studies and subsequent improvements in riparian modeling. Riparian recommended best management practices (BMPs) in Missouri (MO) have not been validated. Studies are therefore warranted to describe subsurface interactions between the stream, hyporheic zone (HZ), and adjoining riparian wetland/floodplain. Within the HZ groundwater discharge through highly permeable Karst geology can dramatically affect water quality. The following research is on-going in the Baskett Research and Education Area (BREA), a 9.17 km2 preserved wildland watershed located 8 km east of Ashland, in the Ozark border region of south-central MO. The climate at BREA is generally described as warm, humid, and continental, with mean January and August temperatures of -2.4 °C and 24.5 °C, respectively, and 1,022 mm mean annual precipitation. Limestone geology of Ordovician and Mississippian age underlies the BREA with dominant soils of Weller silt loam and Clinkenbeard clay loam. Vegetation at the BREA consists of northern and southern division oak dominated hickory forests. BREA offers a distinct opportunity to study wildland watershed processes to validate contemporary best management practices (BMP) in MO. To quantify hydrobiogeochemical flux, spatial and temporal (3 water years) variability in stream water temperatures, key nutrients (NO3, P, K, NH3) and hyporheic exchange are being monitored. Key hydrologic variables approaching a mass balance, plus groundwater monitoring (via piezometric arrays) are being studied. Results (beginning summer and fall 2009) will provide the necessary information to quantify the relationships between riparian buffer density and floodplain efficacy in ameliorating hydrologic and biogeochemical processes. Previous studies show that highest nutrient concentrations tend to occur in the smallest streams. In Iowa, watershed study results (areas 47 to 2774 km2) showed that NO3 concentrations in surface water ranged from 0.4-10.8 mg/L in larger watersheds while in smaller watersheds it ranged from 3.1-10 mg/L. Nitrate was shown to travel 5-10 times as farther than other constituents of concern including ammonia (NH3), which can travel tens to hundreds of meters. Given results from previous studies, it is expected that headwater streams of the BREA will supply nutrients at higher concentrations. It is further expected that nutrient flux will originate from surrounding hillslopes through the floodplain to streams (spatially and temporally variable). Riparian floodplains of the BREA will be characterized with respect to the pools and fluxes of water and nutrients, from which BMP efficacy can be assessed. This work will provide regionally specific and scientifically validated information that will justify the use of current or modified BMPs. Published results will better equip agencies and citizens to better protect these complex and critically important fresh water ecosystems.

The research applied new methods that integrated remote sensing and other spatial data bases to answer questions about changes in the forests of northern Maine during the past three decades. Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) and Tasseled Cap Wetness (TCW) omission and commission errors were compared in detecting forest type disturbances and harvest intensity at five, two, and one year

Depletion in the forest area threatens the sustainability of agricultural production systems and en-dangers the economy of the country. Every year extensive areas of arable agricultural and forestlands are degraded and turned into wastelands over time, due to natural causes or human interventions. Depletion in forest cover, therefore, has an important impact on socio-economic development and ecological balance. High population

Deforestation \\/ depletion in forest area threaten the sustainability of agricultural production systems and en-danger the economy of the country. Every year extensive areas of arable agricultural and forestlands are degraded and turned into wastelands, due to natural causes or human interventions. There are several causes of deforestation, such as expansion in agricultural area, urban development, forest fires, commercial logging,

Mangroves are woody plants which form the dominant vegetation in tidal, saline wetlands along tropical and subtropical coasts.\\u000a The current knowledge concerning the most striking feature of mangroves i.e., their unique ability to tolerate high salinity\\u000a is summarized in the present review. In this review, we shall discuss recent studies that have focused on morphological, anatomical,\\u000a physiological, biochemical, molecular and

Mangroves represent a typical ecosystem found along many tropical coasts and estuaries. They are of exceptional biological importance. As a nutrient filter and synthesizer of organic matter, mangroves create a living buffer between land and sea. Highly dependent upon the inorganic nutrients contributed by rivers, they play a primary role in supporting the productivity of the associated marine environment.

A NASA RPC (Rapid Prototyping Capability) experiment was conducted to assess the potential of VIIRS (Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite) data for monitoring non-native gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) defoliation of forests. This experiment compares defoliation detection products computed from simulated VIIRS and from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) time series products as potential inputs to a forest threat EWS (Early Warning System) being developed for the USFS (USDA Forest Service). Gypsy moth causes extensive defoliation of broadleaved forests in the United States and is specifically identified in the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003. The HFRA mandates development of a national forest threat EWS. This system is being built by the USFS and NASA is aiding integration of needed satellite data products into this system, including MODIS products. This RPC experiment enabled the MODIS follow-on, VIIRS, to be evaluated as a data source for EWS forestmonitoring products. The experiment included 1) assessment of MODIS-simulated VIIRS NDVI products, and 2) evaluation of gypsy moth defoliation mapping products from MODIS-simulated VIIRS and from MODIS NDVI time series data. This experiment employed MODIS data collected over the approximately 15 million acre mid-Appalachian Highlands during the annual peak defoliation time frame (approximately June 10 through July 27) during 2000-2006. NASA Stennis Application Research Toolbox software was used to produce MODIS-simulated VIIRS data and NASA Stennis Time Series Product Tool software was employed to process MODIS and MODIS-simulated VIIRS time series data scaled to planetary reflectance. MODIS-simulated VIIRS data was assessed through comparison to Hyperion-simulated VIIRS data using data collected during gypsy moth defoliation. Hyperion-simulated MODIS data showed a high correlation with actual MODIS data (NDVI R2 of 0.877 and RMSE of 0.023). MODIS-simulated VIIRS data for the same date showed moderately high correlation with Hyperion-simulated VIIRS data (NDVI R2 of 0.62 and RMSE of 0.035), even though the datasets were collected about a half an hour apart during changing weather conditions. MODIS products (MOD02, MOD09, and MOD13) and MOD02-simulated VIIRS time series data were used to generate defoliation mapping products based on image classification and image differencing change detection techniques. Accuracy of final defoliation mapping products was assessed by image interpreting over 170 randomly sampled locations found on Landsat and ASTER data in conjunction with defoliation map data from the USFS. The MOD02-simulated VIIRS 400-meter NDVI classification produced a similar overall accuracy (87.28 percent with 0.72 Kappa) to the MOD02 250-meter NDVI classification (86.71 percent with 0.71 Kappa). In addition, the VIIRS 400-meter NDVI, MOD02 250-meter NDVI, and MOD02 500-meter NDVI showed good user and producer accuracies for the defoliated forest class (70 percent) and acceptable Kappa values (0.66). MOD02 and MOD02-simulated VIIRS data both showed promise as data sources for regional monitoring of forest disturbance due to insect defoliation.

This study was undertaken in order to test the use of remote sensing technology to assess forest degradation in the Peninsular Malaysia. In order to analyse the effect of spatial resolution on forest degradation assessment, course and moderate spatial resolution remote sensing data were examined in this study. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery was used as coarse spatial resolution data, while Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ (ETM+) imagery was used as moderate spatial resolution to compare the accuracy. Geometric and radiometric correction and re-sampling were performed in preprocessing section to enhance the analysis and results. Canopy fractional cover was used as an approach to assess the forest degradation in this study. Then, an optimum vegetation index was selected to apply on canopy fractional cover to enhance the detection of forest canopy damage. At the same time, accuracy assessment for the approach was referred to the location of Neobalanocarpus Heimii and correlate with global evapotranspiration rate. The forest degradation analysis was also applied and compared for all of the states in the Peninsular Malaysia. In conclusion, Landsat ETM+ imagery obtained higher accuracy compare to MODIS using canopy fractional cover approach for forest degradation assessment, and can be more broadly applicable to use for forest degradation investigation.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. "REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. In the framework of getting countries ready for REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme, a partnership between UNEP, FAO and UNDP, assists developing countries to prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies. Designed collaboratively by a broad range of stakeholders, national UN-REDD Programmes are informed by the technical expertise of FAO, UNDP and UNEP. For the monitoring, reporting and verification, FAO supports the countries to develop satellite forestmonitoring systems that allow for credible measurement, reporting and verification (MRV)of REDD+ activities. These are among the most critical elements for the successful implementation of any REDD+ mechanism, also following the COP 16 decisions in Cancun last year. The UN-REDD Programme through a joint effort of FAO and Brazil's National Space Agency, INPE, is supporting countries to develop cost-effective, robust and compatible national monitoring and MRV systems, providing tools, methodologies, training and knowledge sharing that help countries to strengthen their technical and institutional capacity for effective MRV systems. To develop strong nationally-owned forestmonitoring systems, technical and institutional capacity building is key. The UN-REDD Programme, through FAO, has taken on intensive training together with INPE, and has provided technical help and assistance for in-country training and implementation for national satellite forestmonitoring. The goal of the start-up phase for DRC and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in this capacity building effort is the training of technical forest people and IT persons from these two interested REDD+ countries, and to set-up the national satellite forestmonitoring systems. The Brazilian forestmonitoring system, TerraAmazon, which is used as a basis for this initiative, allows countries to adapt it to country needs and the training on the TerraAmazon system is a tool to enhance existing capacity on carbon monitoring systems. The start-up phase of the National ForestMonitoring System for DRC and PNG will allow these countries to follow all actions related to the implementation of its national REDD+ policies and measures. The monitoring system will work as a platform to obtain information on their REDD+ results and actions, related directly or indirectly to national REDD+ strategies and may also include actions unrelated to carbon assessment, such as forest law enforcement. With the technical assistance of FAO, INPE and other stakeholders, the countries will set up an autonomous operational forestmonitoring system. An initial version and the methodologies of these syste,s will be launched in Durban, South Africa during COP 17 and is presented here.

This research article reports halophilic and halotolerant bacteria isolated from mangroveforests located in Northern Vietnam. Several of these bacteria were able to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). PHAs are polyesters stored by microorganisms under the presence of considerable amounts of a carbon source and deficiency of other essential nutrient such as nitrogen or phosphorous. Mangroveforests in Northern Vietnam are saline coastal habitats that have not been microbiologically studied. Mangrove ecosystems are, in general, rich in organic matter, but deficient in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. We have found about 100 microorganisms that have adapted to mangroveforests by accumulating PHAs. The production of polyesters might therefore be an integral part of the carbon cycle in mangroveforests. Three of the strains (ND153, ND97, and QN194) isolated from the Vietnamese forests were identified as Bacillus species, while other five strains (QN187, ND199, ND218, ND240, and QN271) were phylogenetically close related to the ?-proteobacterium Yangia pacifica. These strains were found to accumulate PHAs in noticeable amounts. Polymer inclusions and chemical structure were studied by transmission electron microscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analyses, respectively. Strains ND153, ND97, QN194, QN187, ND240, and QN271 synthesized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from glucose, whereas strains ND199 and ND218 synthesized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) from this carbohydrate. With the exception of strain QN194, the strains accumulated PHBV when a combination of glucose and propionate was included in the culture medium. The polymer yields and cell growth reached by one Bacillus isolate, strain ND153, and one Gram-negative bacterium, strain QN271, were high and worth to be researched further. For experiments performed in shake flasks, strain ND153 reached a maximum PHBV yield of 71 wt% and a cell dry weight (CDW) of 3.6 g/L while strain QN271 attained a maximum PHB yield of 48 wt% and a CDW of 5.1 g/L. Both strain ND153 and strain QN271 may only represent a case in point that exemplifies of the potential that mangroveforests possess for the discovery of novel halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms able to synthesize different types of biopolyesters. PMID:23233461

This research article reports halophilic and halotolerant bacteria isolated from mangroveforests located in Northern Vietnam. Several of these bacteria were able to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). PHAs are polyesters stored by microorganisms under the presence of considerable amounts of a carbon source and deficiency of other essential nutrient such as nitrogen or phosphorous. Mangroveforests in Northern Vietnam are saline coastal habitats that have not been microbiologically studied. Mangrove ecosystems are, in general, rich in organic matter, but deficient in nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. We have found about 100 microorganisms that have adapted to mangroveforests by accumulating PHAs. The production of polyesters might therefore be an integral part of the carbon cycle in mangroveforests. Three of the strains (ND153, ND97, and QN194) isolated from the Vietnamese forests were identified as Bacillus species, while other five strains (QN187, ND199, ND218, ND240, and QN271) were phylogenetically close related to the ?-proteobacterium Yangia pacifica. These strains were found to accumulate PHAs in noticeable amounts. Polymer inclusions and chemical structure were studied by transmission electron microscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analyses, respectively. Strains ND153, ND97, QN194, QN187, ND240, and QN271 synthesized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from glucose, whereas strains ND199 and ND218 synthesized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) from this carbohydrate. With the exception of strain QN194, the strains accumulated PHBV when a combination of glucose and propionate was included in the culture medium. The polymer yields and cell growth reached by one Bacillus isolate, strain ND153, and one Gram-negative bacterium, strain QN271, were high and worth to be researched further. For experiments performed in shake flasks, strain ND153 reached a maximum PHBV yield of 71 wt% and a cell dry weight (CDW) of 3.6 g/L while strain QN271 attained a maximum PHB yield of 48 wt% and a CDW of 5.1 g/L. Both strain ND153 and strain QN271 may only represent a case in point that exemplifies of the potential that mangroveforests possess for the discovery of novel halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms able to synthesize different types of biopolyesters. PMID:23233461

The SITHON system, a fully wireless optical imaging system, integrating a network of in-situ optical cameras linking to a multi-layer GIS database operated by Control Operating Centres, has been developed in response to the need for early detection, notification and monitoring of forest fires. This article presents in detail the architecture and the components of SITHON, and demonstrates the first encouraging results of an experimental test with small controlled fires over Sithonia Peninsula in Northern Greece. The system has already been scheduled to be installed in some fire prone areas of Greece. PMID:22408536

Mangrove vegetation and soil were analysed with a view to understanding the community structure and soil relationship in mangrove ecosystems. Coverage values of all plants, frequency, density and basal area for trees were obtained. Soil properties measured included pH, field moisture, bulk density, organic carbon, Al3+, SO42- and Cl-. Principal components ordination of the vegetation data established six mixed mangrove

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the corrosion inhibition potential of mangrove (Rhizopora apiculata) tannin in hydrochloric acid medium on copper with the view of developing a natural corrosion inhibitor. Design\\/methodology\\/approach – The mangrove tannin was extracted from the mangrove bark and its anticorrosion potential was studied by weight loss, electrochemical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

We studied the microbial flora in decomposing mangrove leaves in relation to changes in nitrogen and tannin levels, and in penaeid prawn assemblages. Senescent leaves of two mangrove species ( Rhizophora apiculata and Avicennia marina) kept in nylon bags, were separately immersed for 80 days in five tanks full of mangrove water. A known amount of decomposing leaves was collected

The aim of this study was to test the performance of hyperspectral data in discriminating mangroves at the species level. First, spectral responses between 350 nm and 2500 nm of 16 Thai tropical mangrove species were recorded from the leaves, using a field spectrometer under laboratory conditions. Next, the mangrove spectra were statistically tested to see whether they significantly differed

This study documents comparative variations of macrofaunal densities in a deforested area and a natural mangrove area in Gazi Bay, Kenya, during 1993. Similar groups of both epifauna and infauna were recorded in the two areas with differences in distribution along transects in different sampling sessions. Hence mangrove deforestation decreases biodiversity. Other more striking effects of mangrove deforestation include a

DNA from pooled leaf samples of 11 true major mangrove, three true minor mangrove, two mangrove associate, two mangrove parasite,\\u000a three terrestrial and one cultivated species were isolated for the present study. In total, 198 random amplified polymorphic\\u000a DNAs (RAPDs) and 180 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) loci were scored by using ten primers and 14 enzyme-probe\\u000a combinations respectively. The

One of the objectives of NASA DESDynI (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics of Ice) Mission is to characterize terrestrial ecosystems with respect to biomass, biodiversity, and disturbance/change through time. Forest degradation, which was defined by the UNFCCC (COP-13) as any forest that has experienced a loss, is an important aspect of forest disturbance. DESDynI, utilizes both lidar and radar to characterize forest 3-D structure to provide accurate estimates of the changes in biomass which is important for monitoringforest degradation. Other forest structural parameters may also be useful and can be mapped for monitoringforest degradation/disturbances. The forests in the Howland, Maine area consist of undisturbed near-mature forest, and forests with early clear cuts, strip cuts, and recent selective cuts. These forest management approaches reduce the biomass, and have different effects on canopy heights. For example, selective harvesting may remove a significant proportion of the biomass without drastically changing height. The effects of this on the lidar waveforms must be understood. In this study, a lidar waveform model will be used to simulate the effects of various forest management practices on the lidar waveform. IKONOS images, LVIS (Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor) data, and field measurements will be used to investigate the characteristics of lidar waveforms, identify the significant changes of the waveform, and correlate these changes with the forest structural changes. The results from this study will provide insight and protocols for monitoringforest degradation from lidar waveform data.

Automated recording stations have been installed at the Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest, a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site located near Fairbanks, Alaska, in a forest stand of the Tanana River floodplain underlain by discontinuous permafrost. These stations provide a continuous record of dielectric constant and temperature of tree trunks, and soil moisture and temperature profiles down to the root zone. Along with the weather stations deployed at the same location, these measurements provide a continuous record of the environmental and phenologic conditions of the forest during a complete seasonal cycle. At the same time, ERS-1 SAR imaged the study site repeatedly from space to provide radar backscatter measurements of the forest approximately three times a month. Here, we examine the temporal dynamic of ERS-1 SAR measurements in relation with the changing environmental and phenologic state of the forest canopy and of the forest ground layers during the winter/spring and fall/winter transitions of 1992 and 1993. During these transitions, we examine whether changes in radar backscatter observed by ERS-1 may be related to freezing or thawing of the soil and vegetation in order to determine the start and end of the growing season for the forest. The results of this analysis are used in turn to determine whether similar changes are observed over larger regions. Mosaics of SAR data generated along three different North-South Alaskan ERS-1 transects that intercept with our study site are used in combination with hourly air temperature and daily precipitation rates gathered at airport weather stations by the National Weather Service. Results obtained using ERS-1 data collected from January 1992 to mid-1993 will be discussed.

Uca annulipes(H. Milne Edwards) is the dominant fiddler crab inhabiting mangroveforests in East Africa. However, several aspects concerning its reproduction are poorly known. Such information is necessary for a better understanding of several biological aspects occurring in this species. The aim of this study was to assess the reproductive biology of Uca annulipes as well as some factors determining

Habitat destruction and predation by invasive alien species has led to the disappearance of several island populations of Darwin's finches but to date none of the 13 recognized species have gone extinct. However, driven by rapid economic growth in the Galápagos, the effects of introduced species have accelerated and severely threatened these iconic birds. The critically endangered mangrove finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) is now confined to three small mangroves on Isabela Island. During 2006–2009, we assessed its population status and monitored nesting success, both before and after rat poisoning. Population size was estimated at around only 100 birds for the two main breeding sites, with possibly 5–10 birds surviving at a third mangrove. Before rat control, 54 per cent of nests during incubation phase were predated with only 18 per cent of nests producing fledglings. Post-rat control, nest predation during the incubation phase fell to 30 per cent with 37 per cent of nests producing fledglings. During the nestling phase, infestation by larvae of the introduced parasitic fly (Philornis downsi) caused 14 per cent additional mortality. Using population viability analysis, we simulated the probability of population persistence under various scenarios of control and showed that with effective management of these invasive species, mangrove finch populations should start to recover. PMID:20194165

Habitat destruction and predation by invasive alien species has led to the disappearance of several island populations of Darwin's finches but to date none of the 13 recognized species have gone extinct. However, driven by rapid economic growth in the Galápagos, the effects of introduced species have accelerated and severely threatened these iconic birds. The critically endangered mangrove finch (Camarhynchus heliobates) is now confined to three small mangroves on Isabela Island. During 2006-2009, we assessed its population status and monitored nesting success, both before and after rat poisoning. Population size was estimated at around only 100 birds for the two main breeding sites, with possibly 5-10 birds surviving at a third mangrove. Before rat control, 54 per cent of nests during incubation phase were predated with only 18 per cent of nests producing fledglings. Post-rat control, nest predation during the incubation phase fell to 30 per cent with 37 per cent of nests producing fledglings. During the nestling phase, infestation by larvae of the introduced parasitic fly (Philornis downsi) caused 14 per cent additional mortality. Using population viability analysis, we simulated the probability of population persistence under various scenarios of control and showed that with effective management of these invasive species, mangrove finch populations should start to recover. PMID:20194165

This study examines how satellite based time-series vegetation greenness data and phenological measurements can be used to monitor and quantify vegetation recovery after wildfire disturbances and examine how pre-fire fuel reduction restoration treatments impact fire severity and impact vegetation recovery trajectories. Pairs of wildfire affected sites and a nearby unburned reference site were chosen to measure the post-disturbance recovery in relation to climate variation. All site pairs were chosen in forested uplands in Arizona and were restricted to the area of the Rodeo-Chediski fire that occurred in 2002. Fuel reduction treatments were performed in 1999 and 2001. The inter-annual and seasonal vegetation dynamics before, during, and after wildfire events can be monitored using a time series of biweekly composited MODIS NDVI (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) data. Time series analysis methods included difference metrics, smoothing filters, and fitting functions that were applied to extract seasonal and inter-annual change and phenological metrics from the NDVI time series data from 2000 to 2007. Pre- and post-fire Landsat data were used to compute the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and examine burn severity at the selected sites. The phenological metrics (pheno-metrics) included the timing and greenness (i.e. NDVI) for the start, peak and end of the growing season as well as proxy measures for the rate of green-up and senescence and the annual vegetation productivity. Pre-fire fuel reduction treatments resulted in lower fire severity, which reduced annual productivity much less than untreated areas within the Rodeo-Chediski fire perimeter. The seasonal metrics were shown to be useful for estimating the rate of post-fire disturbance recovery and the timing of phenological greenness phases. The use of satellite time series NDVI data and derived pheno-metrics show potential for tracking vegetation cover dynamics and successional changes in response to drought, wildfire disturbances, and forest restoration treatments in fire-suppressed forests.

Shrimp yields and harvest characteristics were monitored at mixed shrimp–mangrove forestry farms in two state forestry–fisheries enterprises, Tam Giang 3 and 184, in Ca Mau province, southern Vietnam. The aim was to identify key factors contributing to poor and declining shrimp production in the region over recent years. Shrimp yields were highly variable between farms but were generally low with

The large amounts of leaf litter produced by tropical mangroveforests serve as a major food source for the benthic fauna. The reasons for the preferential consumption of mangrove leaves by crabs are unclear as yet. We investigated the diet, food preferences and consumption rates of 8 dominant grapsoid crab species ( Perisesarma spp., Episesarma spp., Metopograpsus latifrons, and Metaplax elegans) in mangroves of Segara Anakan, Java, Indonesia, by means of stomach-content analysis and feeding experiments. Leaves from the five most abundant mangrove tree species ( Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia alba, Ceriops decandra, Rhizophora apiculata, and Sonneratia caseolaris) were analyzed for organic carbon, total nitrogen, ? 13C, ? 15N and amino acids and hexosamines. This study is the first that investigated crab food preferences related to the nitrogen compound composition of leaves. Our results show that Episesarma spp. and Perisesarma spp. are omnivorous crabs which mainly feed on detritus, mangrove litter and bark, and on a small amount of roots, algae and animal matter whereas M. elegans is a detritus feeder. In feeding experiments with green, yellow and brown leaves Perisesarma spp. and E. singaporense had the highest consumption rates for brown leaves of R. apiculata and S. caseolaris, and for green leaves of A. alba. Preferred leaves were characterized by a high amount and/or freshness of nitrogenous compounds and their biochemical composition was significantly different from that of disliked leaves (all leaves of A. corniculatum and C. decandra, green and yellow leaves of R. apiculata and S. caseolaris). The presence of the hexosamine galactosamine found only in brown leaves indicates that bacteria contribute to the amount of bioavailable nitrogen compounds. We infer that the nitrogen compound composition rather than the C/N ratio alone is a determinant for bioavailability of mangrove leaves and hence may partly explain the crabs' food preferences.

In December 2010, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to encourage reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from forest losses with the financial support of developed countries. This important international agreement followed about seven years of effort among governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the scientific community, and is called REDD+, the program for Reducing Emissions

The principal objective of this study is the evaluation of the potentiality of the low spatial resolution and high temporal resolution images,such as the images scanned by the AVHRR sensor of the NOAA-9 satellite. These imagesare used for detection of forest fire in areas prone to be affected and for determining physiological conditions of vegetationcover during the year, in order

team developed two approaches to assess the nesting habitat baseline for murrelets: a map created from following team leader listed alphabetically) 1 US Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR 2 USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Arcata, CA 6 Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit, Oregon State

Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) [1992, Agenda 21: programme of action for sustainable development. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), 3–14 June 1992. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 294pp.], the management of information has become central to the management of forest resources. In the cases of North America and Europe, similar issues have been

Plants represent one of the major sinks for tropospheric ozone that, at high concentrations, can affect plants' physiological activity with consequent serious damage. A research project has been promoted by the Lombardy Foundation for the Environment to investigate the effects of air pollution on forest ecosystems. The areas of study are located on the southern slopes of the Italian Alps

Reclamation specialists are constantly searching for efficient and effective revegetation methods upon xeric sites. In our investigation, we created a small forest patch, densely packed with woody plants and observed the development (expansion and mortality) of individual plants and groups of plants in the patch for the last 20 years. The patch has expanded from about 0.11 acres to about

Community structure of sediment bacteria in the Everglades freshwater marsh, fringing mangroveforest, and Florida Bay seagrass\\u000a meadows were described based on polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) patterns of 16S\\u000a rRNA gene fragments and by sequencing analysis of DGGE bands. The DGGE patterns were correlated with the environmental variables\\u000a by means of canonical correspondence analysis. There was no

Cypress swamp forests of Louisiana offer many important ecological and economic benefits: wildlife habitat, forest products, storm buffers, water quality, and recreation. Such forests are also threatened by multiple factors: subsidence, salt water intrusi...

Pigment contents, proteins and net photosynthesis were investigated in fully developed leaf of 1-year-old seedlings of six mangroves (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Rhizophora apiculata) and mangrove associates (Caesalpinia bonduc, Cerbera manghas, Derris heterophylla, Thespesia populnea), collected from Bhitarkanika, located on the east coast of India. Large variations in the photosynthetic rates (PN) among the six species were observed, ranging from 10.16 µmol

Detailed snowpack observations, meteorology, topography and landcover classification were integrated with multi?temporal SAR data to assess its capability for landscape scale snowmelt mapping at the forest–tundra ecotone. At three sites along an approximately 8° latitudinal gradient in the Fennoscandian mountain range, 16 multi?temporal spaceborne ERS?2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) were used for mapping snowmelt.Comparison of field measurements and backscatter values

Synthetic-aperture radar images of forest site near Manley Hot Springs (64[degree]N, 151[degree]W), Alaska, were collected between August 1991 and December 1991, day and night, every 3 days, at C-band frequency ([lambda] = 5.7 cm), vertical receive and transmit polarization, by the European Space Agency First Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1. During the same period, air and soil temperatures and dielectric and

Fires represent one of the main factors of degradation and destruction of the Mediterranean forest heritage. According to fire-fighting agencies, a satellite-based fire-detection system can be considered operationally useful for Mediterranean countries when fires with a minimum extent of 1500 m2 can be detected with a temporal resolution of 30 min. In fact, such a system should be able to

Reducing the loss of biodiversity is key to ensure the future well being of the planet. Indicators to measure the state of biodiversity should come from primary data that are collected using consistent field methods across several sites, longitudinal, and derived using sound statistical methods that correct for observation/detection bias. In this paper we analyze camera trap data collected between 2008 and 2012 at a site in Costa Rica (Volcan Barva transect) as part of an ongoing tropical forest global monitoring network (Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network). We estimated occupancy dynamics for 13 species of mammals, using a hierarchical modeling approach. We calculated detection-corrected species richness and the Wildlife Picture Index, a promising new indicator derived from camera trap data that measures changes in biodiversity from the occupancy estimates of individual species. Our results show that 3 out of 13 species showed significant declines in occupancy over 5 years (lowland paca, Central American agouti, nine-banded armadillo). We hypothesize that hunting, competition and/or increased predation for paca and agouti might explain these patterns. Species richness and the Wildlife Picture Index are relatively stable at the site, but small herbivores that are hunted showed a decline in diversity of about 25%. We demonstrate the usefulness of longitudi